UP: Madison. An analysis by the Business Journal of Milwaukee found that the Madison metro area has had the best employment record of any metropolitan area for the past decade, with a jobless rate of 3.5%. Is this what they mean by "78 square miles surrounded by reality"?
DOWN: Madison. As expected, the city faces a brutal budget year. In a press conference, Mayor Paul Soglin says he hopes a 3% tax hike and a 5% cut to city agencies, along with furloughs or layoffs, will be enough to make up a $5.6 million cut in state aid. "Never in my experience in city government did we face a set of circumstances such as we confront for 2012," Soglin says.