Wisconsin gov likes Ill. tax hike

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

SPRINGFIELD — Forget cheese curds along Interstate 94 or speed traps designed to nab Illinois vacationers on the way to the North Woods.

Wisconsin thinks it has a new strategy to make a buck off of Illinois thanks to Gov. Quinn and the state Legislature’s backing of a 46-percent increase in corporate income taxes.

New Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, launched an unprecedented blitz of the Chicago media Wednesday to woo tax-weary Illinois businesses into the Dairy State with his vision of two years of tax-free existence there if they move.

“I pulled out an old bumper sticker from the ‘80s when Tommy Thompson was governor that said, ‘Escape to Wisconsin.’ That was the tourism campaign back then. But that’s a message we’re sending now to employers in Illinois,” Walker told the Chicago Sun-Times in a phone interview.

The Wisconsin governor called his state’s Legislature into special session to enact a series of business-friendly initiatives, including the two-year elimination of corporate income taxes for migrating companies.

“You can stay a Bear fan, our tax breaks don’t discriminate,” Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, also a Republican, added Wednesday in an open letter to Illinois businesses.

Quinn offered little more than a shrug when asked his reaction to the post-tax hike GOP broadside from across the border aimed at going after Illinois businesses.

“Well, lotsa luck to them, but that’s not gonna happen,” Quinn told reporters at a news conference in his Statehouse office.

Quinn pointed to the 2010 defection to Illinois of the Nippon Sharyo railroad car manufacturer that opted to build a plant in Rochelle, Ill., instead of Wisconsin after Illinois offered a $12 million incentive package.

Quinn also noted Illinois is trying to lure Milwaukee train maker Talgo Inc. to Illinois after Walker decided to “kick [it] in the shins” by rejecting federal high-speed rail funds from the Obama administration.

Wisconsin still has higher business and individual tax rates than Illinois even after Quinn implements the tax increase here. That – along with one other undeniable factor – should prevent a mass exodus across the border despite the onerous tax hikes from Springfield, one top Illinois business leader said.

“Wisconsin is not the mecca where everybody is going to be running off to,” predicted Illinois Manufacturers’ Association President Greg Baise. “The last time I looked, their climate is a lot s------- than ours.”