WEDC spokesman resigns month after hire

Gillespie resigned Monday

MADISON, Wis. — The man hired last month to help the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. with its public image has resigned a month after he was hired.

WEDC says John Gillespie resigned Monday. Gillespie is on the state’s delinquent taxpayer list, owing about $36,000 in back taxes.

In a separate case from Outagamie County, the state Department of Workforce Development filed a warrant seeking nearly $8,000 in unemployment insurance compensation benefits he received.

Gillespie’s resignation comes less than a week after a scathing state audit of WEDC. The report by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau said WEDC broke state law, failed to adequately track money it awarded for economic development projects and sometimes gave money to ineligible recipients.

A phone number for Gillespie is not listed.