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Sen. Baldwin: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds must go to small businesses
Responding to reports of “unjust enrichment” of wealthy CEOs and hedge-fund managers through the initial $350 billion in paycheck protection funding Congress allocated in the federal COVID-19 relief package, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and 20 of her Senate colleagues, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small […]
What is the Republican position on the pandemic? No, really.
Here are a couple of things you should know about the Reopen Wisconsin rally today: It’s too crazy for Sen. Ron Johnson — the guy who suggested we weigh the relative costs of merely wiping out 1% to 3% of the U.S. population (more than have died in all the wars in U.S. history) against […]
Legislature asks Supreme Court to suspend Safer at Home
Leaders of the state Legislature filed suit in the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, challenging the extension of the Safer at Home order by Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “Purporting to act under color of State law, an unelected, unconfirmed cabinet secretary has laid claim to a suite of czar-like powers — unlimited […]
As Mike Pence visits Wisconsin ventilator plant, Dems decry ‘no national plan’ on COVID
As Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Madison Tuesday for a tour of the local GE Healthcare manufacturing facility that makes ventilators, followed by a roundtable discussion that is closed to the public, three Wisconsin Democrats are sending a letter to President Trump demanding a more coherent federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “At present, […]
Is COVID-19 changing Wisconsin’s political landscape?
The political parties have only begun to take stock of the fallout from Wisconsin’s chaotic April 7 election. But Judge Jill Karofsky’s 10-point win over conservative Justice Daniel Kelly in the state Supreme Court race is a sign that the political winds are shifting against President Donald Trump, says Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect […]
Madison’s Truax Field chosen for F-35
U.S. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett officially designated Madison’s Truax Field, home of the 115th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard, as one of two sites that will receive the next-generation F-35A aircraft in 2023. The proposal to base F-35s in Madison has stirred significant controversy in the community, with proponents claiming the military […]
State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski’s ‘outside the box’ grant for public schools
Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction will receive a special grant of $5.25 million from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands’ Common School Fund, chaired by State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, to cover technology needed for remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Department of Public Instruction is grateful to the State Treasurer’s office and the […]
Conservative takeaway from April 7: move judicial races off presidential primary
Acknowledging that Judge Jill Karofsky won the election “by a margin which I suspect exceeds the ability of anyone to challenge the results through litigation,” Rick Esenberg, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which has frequently sided with Republicans in challenging Gov. Tony Evers’ administration before the state Supreme Court, told participants […]
Jill Karofsky’s victory is a big, surprising win for democracy
It was over so soon, Jill Karofsky’s supporters were reluctant to believe it. Even after the Associated Press announced that Karofsky had won, beating conservative Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, a Scott Walker appointee, to win a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, on social media Karofsky supporters were warning each other “We’ll know […]
Judge Jill Karofsky declares victory in Wisconsin Supreme Court race
At 7 p.m. on Monday, April 13, Dane County Circuit Judge Jill Karofsky declared that she was “deeply honored” and “absolutely humbled to be the next justice on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.” Karofsky was elected to a ten-year term on the court in a 53% to 47% victory over her opponent, Justice Daniel Kelly, […]
Democratic Party chair: ‘All legal options are on the table’ after spring election debacle
In a press call on Monday morning, as Wisconsinites waited for April 7 election results to be announced late in the day, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez and Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler denounced Republicans for insisting on going forward with in-person voting. The pair suggested future legal action in response to […]
Letter carrier: why absentee ballots without postmarks should count
Scott Van Derven, the president of the Wisconsin Association of Letter Carriers, was disturbed by the news that the U.S. Supreme Court had ordered that absentee ballots must be postmarked by April 7 to count in Wisconsin’s spring election. “I have a unique perspective — I know how postmarks work,” Van Derven says. “The Supreme […]