Here & Now

Dee Hall Talks About Experiences Reporting On WEDC

NOW TO STATE CAPITOL NEWS. THIS WEEK TWO DEMOCRATS ON THE WISCONSIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD CALLED FOR THE WEDC SECRETARY AND CEO TO STEP DOWN. SENATOR JULIE LASSA AND MINORITY LEADER REPRESENTATIVE PETER BARCA’S CALL TO REMOVE REED HALL COMES AFTER RECENT INVESTIGATIONS AND NEWLY-RELEASED DOCUMENTS SHOW MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF STATE MONEY WAS AWARDED TO COMPANIES WITHOUT FORMAL REVIEW.

PETER BARCA:

TO PUT IT SIMPLY, I DO NOT HAVE CONFIDENCE IN REED HALL’S ABILITY TO LEAD OUR STATE’S JOB AGENCIES AND PROTECT THE TAXPAYERS OF WISCONSIN. AND I HAVE NO SENSE IF BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE GIVEN ALL THE INFORMATION NEEDED FOR US TO PERFORM OUR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY. SO THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS THAT HE MUST RESIGN. THE AUDIT BUREAU REPORT POINTS OUT THAT WE’RE NOT FOLLOWING THE LAW AT WEDC. THAT WEDC IS NOT EVEN FOLLOWING BOARD POLICIES. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. IN HIS PUBLIC REMARKS, HE DOES NOT SEEM TO APPRECIATE THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING THE LAW AND FOLLOWING BOARD POLICY.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

REED HALL DID NOT RESPOND TO A REQUEST FOR AN INTERVIEW. HERE’S WHAT GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER SAID ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS OF THE WEDC BOARD AND THEIR DEMANDS FOR REED HALL’S RESIGNATION. QUOTE, THE PRESS CONFERENCE HELD BY REPRESENTATIVE BARCA AND SENATOR LASSA IS BOTH DISINGENUOUS AND TROUBLING. HE SAID THEY BOTH HAVE TAKEN PART IN IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WEDC’S LOAN PRACTICES AND AUDITS AT BOARD MEETINGS AND HAVE BEEN PROVIDED NEARLY 1,000 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS WHICH THEY REQUESTED RELATED TO THESE LOANS MADE IN WEDC’S EARLY DAYS. TO SAY THERE IS A LACK OF TRANSPARENCY, HE SAYS, IS BLATANTLY FALSE. ADDITIONALLY, THE DECISION DATES ON ALL THESE LOANS WERE PRIOR TO REED HALL’S APPOINTMENT TO CEO. THE AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST WHO REPORTED WHAT’S DESCRIBED AS A BLOCK BUSTER INVESTIGATION INTO WEDC LAST MONTH, REPORTING THAT BLEW WEDC’S PROCESS OF AWARDING FUNDS WIDE OPEN IS HERE TONIGHT. DEE HALL, FORMERLY OF THE WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, IS NOW MANAGING EDITOR AT THE WISCONSIN CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, OF WHICH WPT IS A PARTNER. THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

DEE HALL:

THANKS A LOT.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

CONGRATULATE ON THIS REPORTING. REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF.

DEE HALL:

THANKS. I APPRECIATE IT.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

FIRST TELL US WHAT IT WAS THAT YOU UNCOVERED IN YOUR REPORTING CONCERNING THIS HALF MILLION DOLLAR LOAN THAT WEDC AWARDED TO A COMPANY CALLED BUILDING COMMITTEE, INC.

DEE HALL:

RIGHT. FIRST OF ALL I SHOULD SAY THAT MATTHEW DEFOUR WAS MY PARTNER IN THE REPORTING THAT I DID FOR THE STATE JOURNAL, AND HE DID A LOT OF SOURCE WORK TO COME UP WITH THIS PARTICULAR LOAN THAT APPARENTLY WITHIN WEDC AND OUTSIDE OF WEDC WAS SEEN AS A TROUBLESOME LOAN. WE REALLY DIDN’T KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT IT THAN THAT. SO WE BEGAN LOOKING INTO IT. HE TOOK THE LEAD ON LOOKING AT SOME ASPECTS OF THE LOAN AND I TOOK THE LEAD ON SORT OF LOOKING AT WHO WAS BUILDING COMMITTEE, INC. AND I DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS A COMPANY THAT WAS SIMPLY ON ITS WAY DOWN. I MEAN IT WAS FAILING. IT HAD PRETTY WELL LAID OFF MOST OF ITS STAFF. AND THE STAFF THAT REMAINED HAD BEEN ON HALF PAY FOR SOMETHING LIKE A YEAR AND A HALF WHEN THEY GOT THE MONEY. YOU KNOW THERE WERE SOME OTHER ALLEGATIONS THAT WE RAN IN OUR STORY BASED ON OUR SOURCES THAT INDIVIDUALS WERE URGED TO GIVE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO TRY TO GET EITHER FEDERAL OR STATE MONEY FOR THIS ENERGY RETROFIT PROJECT, WHICH THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. IN THE END, IT DOESN’T APPEAR — IT’S UNCLEAR HOW MUCH WORK ACTUALLY WAS DONE ON THAT. IT IS CLEAR THAT THEY NEVER PAID BACK ANY OF THE MONEY.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

I KNOW THAT AT THIS PRESS CONFERENCE THAT THE GOVERNOR WAS REFERENCING, REPRESENTATIVE BARCA AND SENATOR LASSA BROUGHT OUT A BIG PHOTO OF A MASERATI. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?

DEE HALL:

WELL, OK, DURING OUR REPORTING ONE THING WE DISCOVERED WAS THAT THE COMPANY WAS BEING SUED LEFT AND RIGHT BY A VARIETY OF PEOPLE WITH WHOM IT HAD DONE BUSINESS. AND ONE OF THEM WAS A LEASING COMPANY THAT LEASED SOME VERY HIGH-END CARS TO SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING MR. BILL MINAHAN, WHO OWNS THE COMPANY. AND SO THAT WAS HIS PERSONAL BUSINESS CAR, WAS THE MASERATI. WHAT REPRESENTATIVE BARCA AND SENATOR LASSA WERE REFERRING TO IS THERE ARE DOCUMENTS THAT CAME OUT ON FRIDAY THAT INDICATE THAT IN FACT THE PEOPLE WITHIN WEDC WERE AWARE THAT MR. MINAHAN WAS TELLING SOME OF HIS CREDITORS, DON’T WORRY, I’LL PAY YOU BACK WHEN I GET THIS MONEY FROM THE STATE. AND ONE OF THE CREDITORS WAS THIS PARTICULAR LEASING COMPANY. SO THE NOTION THAT HE WOULD USE THESE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DOLLARS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOING OUT THERE TO CREATE JOBS TO INSTEAD PAY OFF, YOU KNOW, A LOAN OR THE MONEY THAT HE OWED THIS LEASING COMPANY WAS PRETTY NOXIOUS TO THE DEMOCRATS.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

HAS YOUR SUBSEQUENT REPORTING UNCOVERED SIMILAR PATTERNS?

DEE HALL:

NOT SIMILAR TO BUILDING COMMITTEE, INC. I MEAN THAT WAS, THAT’S A PRETTY UNBELIEVABLE STORY BECAUSE THIS WAS A DONOR. THE MAXIMUM DONOR TO WALKER ON YOU KNOW THE DAY OF THE ELECTION. THE TOP ADMINISITRA–THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, WHO IS THE RIGHT-HAND PERSON FOR ANY GOVERNOR, TOOK THE LEAD IN TRYING TO GET THE MONEY FOR BUILDING COMMITTEE, INC. SO WE DIDN'T FIND THAT. WE DID DO A SUBSEQUENT STORY AT THE STATE JOURNAL ABOUT MORGAN AIRCRAFT. ALSO FAILED TO PAY BACK ITS — I GUESS THEY GOT ALMOST $700,000 IN STATE LOANS, DID NOT CREATE THE JOBS THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO CREATE, ARE REALLY SORT OF ON LIFE SUPPORT, WOULD BE A GENEROUS WAY TO PUT IT. I DON’T KNOW THAT THE COMPANY HAS MUCH GOING ON RIGHT NOW.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

SO LAST FRIDAY’S DOCUMENT RELEASED FROM WEDC SHOWED THIS $124 MILLION IN LOANS THAT WERE NOT REVIEWED BEFORE GOING OUT THE DOOR. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HOW SUCCESSFUL THESE AWARDS HAVE BEEN TOWARD JOB CREATION?

DEE HALL:

WE’RE LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW, ACTUALLY. THERE’S SO MANY COMPANIES, AND WE’RE TRYING TO SQUARE THE NUMBERS THAT WERE GIVEN TO US BY WEDC ON FRIDAY WITH WHAT’S ON THEIR WEBSITE AND WHAT’S BEEN PUBLICLY REPORTED ABOUT THESE COMPANIES AND HOW WELL THEY’RE DOING. SOME OF THEM CLEARLY ARE DOING GREAT. THEY’RE DOING FINE. SOME OF THEM IT’S KIND OF QUESTIONABLE WHETHER THEY EITHER CREATED THE JOBS THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO CREATE OR WHETHER THEY CREATED JOBS AND THEN LATER PERHAPS LAID OFF SOME PEOPLE OR LOST JOBS. WE’RE STILL TRYING TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THOSE COMPANIES. BUT THE REASON THAT THOSE DOCUMENTS WERE RELEASED, BUILDING COMMITTEE WAS AN EXAMPLE OF AN AWARD THAT WAS GIVEN WITHOUT FINANCIAL REVIEW. AND SO THE QUESTION THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAD — AND OF COURSE REPORTERS HAVE — IS ARE THERE MORE OF THESE? AND THAT WAS WHAT THIS WAS RELATED TO, A BUNCH OF DOCUMENTS ABOUT BUILDING COMMITTEE AND THEN LAYING OUT THESE OTHER 24 COMPANIES THAT HAD RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 127 AWARDS FOR $124 MILLION, FOR WHICH THERE WAS NOT A PREVIOUS FINANCIAL REVIEW OF THE COMPANIES.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

AND THE NUMBER OF JOBS ATTACHED TO THAT $124 MILLION?

DEE HALL:

IT WAS IN THE THOUSANDS BUT YOU KNOW THE OTHER THING THAT’S A LITTLE HARD ABOUT ALL THIS IS THESE WERE GIVEN OUT IN 2011, 2012. SOME OF THEM DON’T REALLY HAVE TO MEET THAT JOB GOAL UNTIL 2017. SO SOME OF THEM MAY APPEAR TO BE BEHIND, BUT IT’S HARD TO TELL. I MEAN, IF YOU OPEN A NEW FACILITY, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HAVE 200 MORE JOBS. SO I WISH I COULD SAY IT’S AN EASY THING TO LOOK AT, BUT IT’S A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO FIGURE OUT. I MEAN SOME OF THESE COMPANIES, MAYBE THEY HAVE CREATED NO JOBS NOW, BUT MAYBE BY 2017 THEY’LL HAVE 500 JOBS. WE JUST DON’T KNOW.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED STUFF. ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT AT THE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM?

DEE HALL:

YES. I’M WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH ONE OF OUR INTERNS THERE AND LOOKING AT THE COMPANIES AND JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON WITH THESE AWARDS AND WHETHER THE LACK OF FINANCIAL REVIEW – I MEAN WERE THERE THINGS THE STATE COULD HAVE DISCOVERED HAD THEY DONE A FINANCIAL REVIEW OF THESE COMPANIES. SO WE’RE LOOKING AT THOSE THINGS.

FREDERICA FREYBERG:

ALL RIGHT. DEE HALL, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK.

DEE HALL:

THANKS A LOT.