MADISON - It’s been more than two years since a series of scathing audits showed that Scott Walker’s flagship jobs agency, the scandal-plagued Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, failed to comply with the law, didn’t properly track taxpayer funded loans, and spent taxpayer money on alcohol, iTunes gift cards, and Badgers tickets, yet the failed entity still is in disarray as Walker has abandoned Wisconsin for his presidential ambitions.

That’s according to an audit released today by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau that found:

• WEDC’s contracts for grants and loans didn’t follow the law or even their own internal policies on a consistent basis;
• Recipients of taxpayer funds were not contractually required to submit information showing that jobs were created and/or retained;
• WEDC wrote off or forgave more than $4.2 million in loans with payments more than 90 days past due;
• Staff did not consistently comply with policies established by the governing board, and the policies did not consistently comply with statutory requirements;
• WEDC did not allocate tax credits in compliance with the law or its internal policies and did not establish all statutorily required policies for its tax credit programs or determine whether recipients met all eligibility criteria;
• WEDC did not properly account for the numbers of jobs created and retained as a result of awards it made.

“While Scott Walker has completely abandoned Wisconsin to advance his presidential ambitions the continued incompetence and ineptitude at his Economic Disaster Corporation is bordering on criminal negligence at this point,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Friday. “Wisconsin is ranked 40th in the nation in job growth -- middle class families and businesses all over the state are relying on his flagship jobs agency to comply with the law and be responsible stewards of taxpayer funds to help stimulate our economy. There can’t be any more excuses for this ongoing failure. This is an absolute outrage and the buck has to stop with the chairman of the WEDC board, Scott Walker.”