State of the State in review

Protecting health care and education while building the economy and creating employment for thousands of people topped Gov. Jim Doyle's priorities in his last state of the state. One of his economic proposal is to build high speed trains between Madison and Milwaukee and also on to Chicago and the Twin Cities. Wisconsin received $800 million to build high speed trains between Madison and Milwaukee. On the PBS news program, "In Wisconsin," Doyle spoke about the money received from the federal government for the program and Wisconsin received $800 million for the train system. "The hope is that it can create thousands of jobs. It is transformative transportation," he said. "Wisconsin's entire request was funded, primarily because Wisconsin has done much of the legwork necessary to put the trains together and start building the program." According to the governor's Web site, Doyle also pushed the legislature to move on with its green-jobs bill proposal. Doyle called on the Legislature to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act, building on state successes to develop a clean energy economy. The bill hopes to strengthen the state's renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2025. It also wants to reduce energy consumption by 2 percent by 2015 by improving efficiency for businesses and homes. The plan would create 15,000 jobs in Wisconsin.' To help with economic recovery, Doyle would like the Legislature to institute tax relief for homeowners. According to their Web site, Doyle has improved Wisconsin's tax ranking, moving the state from the 4th highest taxed state to 15th. When considering taxes and fees, Wisconsin's ranking improves to 24th. The state's tax ranking has fallen for six consecutive years - unprecedented in state history.' Doyle also expressed his passion for the Milwaukee Public School system and explained the necessity of protecting and strengthening the education system here in Wisconsin. Test scores for the students in Milwaukee fall on the same level with that of special needs students across the rest of the state. According to the Web site, 'The state has made large investments in Milwaukee Public Schools, directing more than $5.2 billion to the district ... Yet test scores show Milwaukee consistently ranks at the bottom of urban districts in the country.'