Matt Rothschild
Op Ed

Crony Capitalism of Walker, Hammes, Foxconn

Walker donor gets $100 million Foxconn project for which his company has no experience.

By - May 22nd, 2018 11:42 am
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Jon Hammes. Photo by Michael Horne.

Jon Hammes. Photo by Michael Horne.

The announcement on May 14 that the Hammes Co. in Milwaukee is the chief planner for the Foxconn project is an example of crony capitalism at its worst.

The Hammes Co. is owned by Jon Hammes, a buddy and big donor of Scott Walker’s, who now stands to make more than one hundred million dollars off the $4.5 billion taxpayer-funded boondoggle.

Hammes is Walker’s campaign finance chairman for his current reelection bid.

And he was finance chairman for Walker’s hapless presidential campaign.

He and his wife, Ann, have given about $25,000 to Walker’s campaigns for governor over the last eight years.

In 2015, a company registered in the name of their son, J. Patrick Hammes, and sharing an address with the Hammes Co., gave $150,000 to Unintimidated PAC, one of Walker’s super PAC’s during his presidential quest, according to Jessie Opoien of the Capital Times.

Jon Hammes has also given about $20,000 to the Republican Party of Wisconsin over the last 18 years.

And Jon and Ann Hammes have given about $285,000 to the Republican National Committee over the last 14 years.

Now, for his dutiful service to Walker and the Republican Party, Hammes gets to cash in big time.

Well, you might say, maybe his company is the most qualified for the job.

But the Milwaukee Business Journal says: “Hammes Company of Brookfield built a national reputation for planning and developing health care and commercial real estate but no previous engagements compare with the newest.”

The Hammes deal is the latest — and the most grotesque — example of how Scott Walker has turned the state of Wisconsin into an ATM for his pals and donors, an ATM full of our tax dollars.

This is not democracy. This is thievery.

Matthew Rothschild is executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

More about the Foxconn Facility

Categories: Op-Ed, Politics

6 thoughts on “Op Ed: Crony Capitalism of Walker, Hammes, Foxconn”

  1. A Prire says:
    May 22, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    This is only the beginning….the spiral has started.

  2. Terry says:
    May 22, 2018 at 2:27 pm

    Career Politician Scott Walker and republicans are as corrupt and crooked as they come folks.

    Dump Walker 2018
    Dump ALL republicans in 2018

  3. A Prire says:
    May 22, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    With all of the money injected into our corner of the world…this is inane ad placement. Name recognition is all that is being paid for. Repetition. They are counting on nobody noticing. Think of the truly good civic organizations that could benefit.

  4. Tom says:
    May 23, 2018 at 11:42 am

    On top of all of Walker and republican’s pay to play schemes and corruption… Foxconn reportedly scaling back plans for Wisconsin display factory! Walker screwed us all and nobody is paying attention! No more corporate welfare for Walker and republican’s Big Corporate campaugn donors!

    https://9to5mac.com/2018/05/23/foxconn-wisconsin-factory-plans/

    Vote Walker and all these republican bums out in November!

  5. Terry says:
    May 24, 2018 at 9:00 am

    Career Politician Scott Walker FoxCONned Wisconsin! No more massive, 4.5 Billion in Corporate Welfare for Chinese companies while we can’t even drive on our own roads thanks to all the Scottholes everywhere. Too bad we can’t fix them. Republicans gave all our money and our children’s money to China.

    http://host.madison.com/ct/opinion/column/martha-laning-foxonn-is-a-costly-walker-campaign-stunt/article_3c728668-be00-5ee3-8787-0d27414b7b5f.html

    Dump Walker 2018!
    Let’s pave the roads and build a real economy, not just try to buy one from China in an election year!

  6. Wes Dickson says:
    May 24, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    Seriously, does every single sentence have to be a separate paragraph???

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