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Sen. Luther Olsen challenges school-choice advocates over open enrollment
Should students across the state of Wisconsin be allowed to spend part of their day outside their regular school, taking classes at public schools in other districts or at private and charter schools? That was the contentious subject of debate at Wednesday’s Senate Education Committee hearing. Senate Bill 789, introduced by Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River […]
Wisconsinites favor ‘big, structural change’ to health care, survey shows
A new study conducted by Citizen Action of Wisconsin and the nonprofit healthcare research organization Altarum Healthcare Value Hub shows that a majority of Wisconsinites across party lines are concerned about the high cost of healthcare and support government-led solutions. The survey of more than 1,000 Wisconsin adults, conducted from Oct. 29, 2019 to Nov. […]
As the Democratic primary field narrows, women watch from the sidelines
A lot of Democratic primary voters are still getting their bearings after the political winds shifted on Super Tuesday to fill Joe Biden’s sails, followed by Elizabeth Warren dropping out. Women, in particular, are struggling with a race that started out featuring so many strong female candidates only to narrow to two white, male septuagenarians […]
Super Tuesday delivers a bracing jolt of Joe-mentum
Joe Biden was triumphant. “They don’t call it Super Tuesday for nothing,” he declared in his victory speech Tuesday night. His big wins across the country showed a sudden shift, as the Democrats finally consolidated behind a single moderate candidate, and “Joe-mentum” carried Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia and the big […]
After Super Tuesday, a brokered convention?
What happens if no clear winner emerges from the primaries and the surviving Democratic presidential candidates go all the way to the convention with the race still up in the air? A contested convention in Milwaukee is a real possibility. “Right now it doesn’t look like anyone is on an obvious path to have the […]
Advocates push for state protections if Supreme Court overturns ACA
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear oral arguments in October in a case that seeks to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA), with a ruling expected after the 2020 presidential election. “The timing cynically capitulates to the Trump Administration’s politically-motivated request to move until after the 2020 election what would be […]
What’s next in Wisconsin’s voter purge battle?
On Friday, Wisconsin’s 4th District Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s order to remove more than 200,000 voters from the rolls, and vacated a contempt order against the Wisconsin Elections Commission, as well as individual commissioners, for not doing so promptly. It was a victory for voting-rights advocates and Democrats who saw the purge […]
Gov. Evers vetoes tax cut bill
On Wednesday, Feb. 26 Gov. Tony Evers held a news conference in Wauwatosa to announce his veto of Senate Bill 821. The plan, passed by both houses of the Legislature, would have used the state’s projected revenue surplus to cut income and business taxes. The measure “failed to fulfill Republicans’ own promise to get to […]
All hell breaks loose in South Carolina debate
Elizabeth Warren wasn’t done with Mike Bloomberg quite yet. After multiple disappointing finishes in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada it looks as though Warren’s chances of coming out ahead in the primary are increasingly slim—despite the fact that she is the most articulate advocate for progressive policy positions who can also appeal to voters across […]
What happened to Gov. Evers’ proposal on schools?
School funding did not come up in the Assembly yesterday, despite Gov. Tony Evers’ call for a special session to discuss his proposal to spend part of the state budget surplus on reducing property taxes and increasing the state’s share of education funding. Democrats started the day praising the governor’s call to restore the state’s […]
Advocates plead with legislators to take up school funding in governor’s special session
Gov. Tony Evers has called on the Legislature to meet in special session on Tuesday at 1 p.m. to take up his plan to spend part of the potential budget surplus to reduce local property taxes and increase state funding for public schools. Evers wants legislators to consider using $252 million of a projected $451.9 […]
What Wisconsin could show the nation
Editor’s note: Today, together with our sister publications in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania we are kicking off a series of news stories and commentary to bring you an on-the-ground view of our politically divided states, the issues that matter most to people here, and what’s missing in reports from the national media who parachute in for the […]