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Immigrant rights advocates call for a general strike
The immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera on Tuesday announced plans for a statewide general strike to be held Monday, Oct. 11. The strike and student walkout, part of a series of nationwide days of action beginning on Monday, Indigenous People’s Day, is intended to underscore the contributions of immigrants to the U.S. economy […]
People’s Maps Commission releases voting maps
Gov. Tony Evers’ People’s Maps Commission released draft maps for new Assembly, Senate and U.S. House districts on Thursday evening, in a Zoom presentation showcasing a year of work gathering public input and drafting what commissioners touted as fair, nonpartisan maps created through a transparent, participatory process. “The rest of the commission and I have […]
What the Kenosha school board can teach us about democracy
On Tuesday the Kenosha school board held its regular monthly meeting, and it did so virtually. Just one week had gone by since the takeover of the school district’s in-person annual meeting of electors by anti-maskers who voted to recommend cutting the tax levy for schools by $1.2 million. The angry citizens who took over […]
Taking a swing at gerrymandering again, Republicans give themselves a black eye
On Friday, lawyers for the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a federal lawsuit over Wisconsin’s next set of voting maps. In their petition, Republicans describe the federal lawsuit, brought by voting rights groups and Democrats, as “an affront to Wisconsin’s sovereignty.” They said it is an effort to usurp the […]
State superintendent calls out Republicans’ war on schools in fiery speech
In her first annual State of Education address, Wisconsin’s new state schools superintendent Jill Underly did not hold back. “We’re now failing a generation of kids,” Underly declared. “And we’re failing our state by putting Wisconsin’s economic future at risk.” Standing in front of the bust of Fighting Bob La Follette in the Capitol rotunda, […]
Republicans offer joint resolution on redistricting
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu drafted a joint resolution on establishing new voting maps and referred it to the Legislature’s rules committee Thursday, which put it on the calendar for the Assembly’s floor session next week. The resolution’s first two points are uncontroversial, stating that, in drawing new legislative districts […]
State and federal courts are both set to draw voting maps — now what?
On Wednesday the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to take a redistricting case brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) that could put it in the position of drawing Wisconsin’s next round of voting maps, should the Legislature and the governor fail to agree on a new map following the 2020 census. […]
Conservatives, anti-maskers target school boards around the state
A conservative citizens’ group took over the annual Kenosha School Board meeting on Tuesday night, pushing through a cut in school board member salaries and a property tax reduction. “With rage still apparently simmering from a recent school board vote to require face masks in schools, a different crowd outnumbered the regulars Tuesday night,” local […]
Gableman video puts a polished gloss on election nonsense
On Monday, the ethically challenged former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who is overseeing state Republicans’ “investigation” of Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election released a six-minute video warning local elections clerks that he might use his subpoena powers to force them to hand over information. He also put them on notice that the burden of proving that […]
Jill Biden visits Milwaukee school
On Wednesday First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Milwaukee for the first time since Inauguration Day, to visit Marvin E. Pratt Elementary School and talk about keeping students safe as they return to in-person learning. Pratt, a Milwaukee Public School that receives federal Title I funding because of its high number of children in poverty, […]
Citing COVID risk, Democrats on Assembly education committee walk out
As students and teachers begin an uncertain school year, with classrooms open for in-person instruction and the delta variant surging, the Assembly education committee met on Tuesday for a hearing on a bill to improve reading scores and tackle the achievement gap. But just as the hearing got underway, all the Democrats on the committee […]
Safar takes the helm at Law Forward
Law Forward, Wisconsin’s nearly one-year-old public interest law firm, announced Thursday that it has hired its first full-time executive director, Nicole Safar. Safar helped lead Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin for many years, including as the group’s vice president of public affairs and legal advocacy, before leaving to serve as Gov. Tony Evers’ assistant deputy secretary […]