Fantastic piece by WI business leader John Torinus

I've touted for years the writing of John Torinus, a Wisconsin business leader and former Milwaukee Sentinel business editor, and his latest posting should be the one thing you read today:

 Check it out:

In Wisconsin, there is a major disconnect in the centers of power. Our university flagship and state government are headquartered in Madison. Business power is based in the Milwaukee 7 region:

The latest missed opportunity, one that could still be reversed, is the proposal for a massive new building for a Department of Transportation. Where is it going? To the west side of Madison, where the unemployment rate is close to non-existent.

To walk the synergy talk, why not move the whole department, including the new 600,000 square foot building, to the 30th street Corridor in Milwaukee, where jobs are much in need. 

There’s no major reason why that agency has to be in Dane County. Further, the biggest highway projects are always in the state’s business center.

The $200 million structure will also house other agencies that could and should be moved closer to the state’s business hub, such as the Department of Financial Institutions, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Public Service Commission and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner...  

Splitting the government agencies between Madison and Milwaukee could go a long way to eliminating the disconnect that works against the state’s prosperity. And it could mesh well with Gov. Walker’s plan expressed in his state of the state address to shake up state agencies through merger of some of them.