Politics & Government
Milwaukee-area Assembly candidate collects 1,000 signatures by mail
The coronavirus pandemic has upended every aspect of political campaigns and elections in Wisconsin, including the process for candidates obtaining ballot signatures. With door knocking unavailable because of the pandemic, candidates are forced to think creatively to collect the signatures they need to get their names on the ballot. In the hotly contested 23rd Assembly […]
Shilling steps down Friday in western Wisconsin swing district
State Sen. Jennifer Shilling is stepping down earlier than she originally anticipated, effective at the end of the day on Friday, after submitting a letter to Senate President Roger Roth. She said her intention is to “explore career opportunities” and she is looking to make certain she can avoid any conflict of interest. State law […]
At meeting with Vos and Fitzgerald, Evers strives to avoid “fireworks”
The morning after a convoluted decision in which the Wisconsin Supreme Court determined that the state Department of Health Services secretary did not have the authority to issue an extension of the Safer at Home order, Gov. Tony Evers got on the phone for a meeting with the two men who brought the lawsuit on […]
Supreme Court ruling leaves complicated patchwork of local stay-at-home orders
After a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling struck down the state’s Safer-at-Home order, county and municipal governments were left to fend for themselves, with some instituting their own orders while others encouraged businesses to open “safely.” At a press briefing Thursday afternoon, Gov. Tony Evers expressed frustration over the chaos caused by the court’s ruling, and […]
Tensions high as Milwaukee reels from Supreme Court Ruling
Even over a Zoom call the disappointment, anger and uncertainty felt by Rev. Greg Lewis, and other community leaders and activists, was palatable. The May 14 conference was quickly organized as a collective response to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s overturning of the state’s Safer at Home order. Lewis, executive director of Souls to the Polls, […]
Evers: Stay the course, but voluntarily
The legal authority to enforce Wisconsin’s Safer at Home order was ripped away by Wednesday’s 4-3 state Supreme Court ruling. On Thursday, the Department of Health Services (DHS) and Gov. Tony Evers vowed to press ahead with a voluntary approach to reopening the state’s economy while seeking to curb the virus responsible for COVID-19. “We […]
Wisconsin joins brief to support Affordable Care Act before Supreme Court
Wisconsin once helped lead a lawsuit to throw out the Affordable Care Act, but on Thursday the state Department of Justice announced it was joining a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to keep the law intact. “This effort to take down the Affordable Care Act threatens to cause severe damage to public health and […]
Will Congress send aid to ailing local news outlets?
WASHINGTON — Politicians are banding together to try to rescue local news media from economic collapse during the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that Democratic leaders in Congress are pushing to fix a small business lending program so that it applies to local news publishers and broadcasters affiliated with […]
‘Egg on his face’ or ‘decisive victory’
Before the dust had settled in the special election for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, the state’s Democrats were claiming a moral victory in Republican Tom Tiffany’s 14 point win over Democrat Tricia Zunker. Tiffany’s double digit margin was lower than President Donald Trump’s margin in the 7th district in 2016 and former Rep. Sean Duffy’s […]
‘Blatant judicial activism’ as Wisconsin Supreme Court overturns Safer at Home
In a 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the extension of Gov. Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order by Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. The order sought to prevent people throughout the state from gathering in large groups, going to school, church and restaurants, and otherwise participating in social contact […]
Wisconsinites respond to Supreme Court tossing out Safer at Home
Late Wednesday afternoon, at the request of Republicans in the Legislature, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Gov. Tony Evers’ Safer at Home plan, which was ordered by Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. Responses came flooding in from local government, elected officials, businesses and groups responding to the chaos created by the late-in-the-day […]
Will the federal government help Wisconsin get better broadband?
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tammy Baldwin called on Congress Wednesday to narrow disparities in access to broadband internet service. “The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare the reality of how needed it is,” the Wisconsin Democrat said during a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over the Federal […]