The problem with this effort, and all others that have come before it, is that every attempt to metro-ize Milwaukee is sabotaged by the city of Milwaukee. Milwaukee’s idea of regional cooperation is to get the region to pay for the city’s boondoggles. When suburbanites and exurbanites balk at this, they are accused of refusing to "cooperate."

But whenever the rest of the region tries to do something, Milwaukee is first in line with its veto.

You want examples? I have examples.

The city and county of Kenosha are pushing very hard for state and federal approval of a Menomonee Indian-owned casino along Interstate 94. But the tribe that operates the Milwaukee casino doesn’t want to lose its monopoly so Milwaukee city officials are opposing the Kenosha deal. All of the counties surrounding Milwaukee have endorsed widening I-94 by an extra lane. The city of Milwaukee, ever so un-"cooperative," is adamantly opposed. Every time a major development is announced in the suburbs, city officials start crying about urban "sprawl." Henry Maier may be dead but all of his Milwaukee ghosts are still fulminating over 1960s freeway expansion they say drove people out of the city and into the suburbs.

On the other hand, when Milwaukee wants something for itself, the outlying areas are expected to pull out their checkbooks. The Deep Tunnel boondoggle, Miller Park, school busing, commuter and light rail are all projects the city has either succeeded in or tried to foist on suburban tax rolls. While the city has demanded such financial "cooperation" on all of these deals, it also demands that it keep total control of them.

Why should the "Milwaukee 7" be any different? If a company proposes a major industrial park in Racine County, are we to seriously expect support from Milwaukee? When Aurora Health Care announces plans for another big suburban medical center, will Milwaukee officials endorse the idea? Will they finally abandon their decades of obstruction of improvement of the freeway system? To think the answer is yes to any of these questions is merely to fall for the latest regionally cooperative hype.

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The primary election for Milwaukee mayor is only 15 months away and several potential challengers to incumbent Tom Barrett have surfaced. Given that Barrett won his 2004 election solely because of the ethical meltdown of Marvin Pratt, many black leaders believe Barrett can be beaten by a black candidate who isn’t tainted by scandal. Sheriff David Clarke, Common Council President Willie Hines and Congresswoman Gwen Moore are all considering candidacies. The presumption is that Barrett would survive a multi-candidate primary but could lose a general election when faced with a black opponent. The best guess is that Hines, who would be forced to give up his council seat, won’t run. Clarke, on the other hand, is emboldened by his big re-election as sheriff and is almost certain to jump in. Moore, who is bored with being a nobody in Congress, is probably better than 50-50 to enter.

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You can start calling me "The Great Marconi." My psychic ability to forecast every single post-election move by Gov. Jim Doyle is uncanny. The election is only three weeks old and I’ve already nailed my predictions of an auto registration fee hike and a "discovery" that the state budget is badly out of balance. Now, the governor (through his minions) is pushing to raise the state sales tax by eliminating many of the items exempt from it. I mentioned three times on my radio show over the past 10 days that this move was coming and on Monday, Doyle’s closest ally in the state Legislature went public with it.

While this soothsaying of mine may seem impressive, it actually doesn’t require any extrasensory perception. Doyle pretended throughout the last two years that he could balance the state budget, keep all his promises to the teacher’s union and not raise taxes. Understanding this was impossible was logical, not psychic.

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Madison, the closest thing Doyle has to a legislative water boy, says the state needs to close sales tax "loopholes." Democrats think any time something isn’t taxed, it’s a loophole. This could include everything from doctor and lawyer bills, tax preparation fees, grocery and pharmacy items, advertising and even gasoline (its tax is separate from the sales tax). While taxing every last thing the state hasn’t yet taxed would indeed raise money for Doyle and his budget, it would even further inflame the Dante’s Inferno of a tax hell we already live in.

Next prediction: Look for Doyle to propose eliminating all caps on local government and school spending and property taxation. (This "Predict-a-Doyle" stuff is really easy.)

(Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show and a Sunday television show. His column runs Wednesdays in The Freeman.)