Milwaukee Alderman wants transit addressed in Foxconn deal

 

A Milwaukee Alderman says there's something missing in the talks about Foxconn building a massive new plant in southeastern Wisconsin. 

"Part of the problem is that we've got this glaring hole in our economic development tool kit and that's transit," says District 2 Alderman Cavalier Johnson. 

Ald. Johnson says that there are many people in Milwaukee who could fill the thousands of jobs promised by Foxconn, but given the current makeup of the transit system, they would have a hard time getting to a plant that's located well outside Milwaukee County. 

Johnson wants state lawmakers to address that problem. 

"They need to have a conversation to make sure that transit is a key part of the Foxconn deal. I don't know that they're going to be able to satisfy the 13,000 jobs that Foxconn has promised to make in the course of the next several years here in Wisconsin without tapping into the workforce here in Milwaukee. So that should be a key part of the discussion," says Johnson.

No decision has been announced yet where the new Foxconn plant will be located.