Monthly Archives: September, 2022

(The Center Square) – A new deep dive into Wisconsin crime statistics shows a growing problem with crime in Milwaukee as well as a failing criminal justice system in the rest of the state.

The Badger Institute released four new reports on Tuesday, each looking at a different facet of the criminal justice system.

The headline-grabbing news is what the Badger Institute's Mike Nichols calls a Tale of Two States.

“Milwaukee has 10% of the state’s population, but it has an enormous share of the state’s crime,” Nichols said. “In 2021, Milwaukee had 60% of homicides, 53% of aggravated assaults, 68% of auto thefts. It’s so hard to talk about statewide crime without talking about Milwaukee."

Nichols said the numbers on car thefts paint the picture of how Milwaukee crime is spilling out.

“There are a crazy amount of car thefts in Milwaukee. Thefts are up 255% compared to just 46% in the rest of Wisconsin,” Nichols explained. “But look in [nearby] Wauwatosa in the last couple of years, car thefts are up 436% from 2019 to 2021.”

The Badger reports also highlight problems with keeping police officers in Milwaukee. Researchers say they found “not only has [Milwaukee] reduced the number of authorized police positions, there are fewer officers to fill them,” and “the Milwaukee Police Department is also facing a damaging loss of institutional knowledge and practical skills, which could worsen policing just when Milwaukee needs its force to perform at its peak.”

The reports also question what Wisconsin will do with its prison population, which currently tops 20,000 people. Many of these prisoners will be released eventually.

“Wisconsin policymakers should expand electronic monitoring in specific instances, adopt supervision lengths in line with those in other states and require better statewide data tracking and reporting,” the report notes.

Nichols said one of the most jarring findings was the amount of time it now takes to bring criminals to justice.

“It now takes more than a year for a court to resolve an armed robbery charge, 14 months to resolve a sexual assault case and more than 15 months to resolve an allegation that someone committed a murder,” Nichols added. “It takes 85% longer to dispose of a felony case, and more than 100% longer for a misdemeanor case.”

Nichols said that is twice as long to deal with a case today compared to 20 years ago.

“God help the people who are victims,” Nichols added.

He hopes Wisconsin lawmakers and policy makers read the report, and start thinking of some solutions.

You can read all four pieces of the Badger Institute’s report here, here, here, and here.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin lawmakers won’t begin writing the next state budget until next year, but they are already being flooded with requests for billions of dollars more in state money.

The Institute for Reforming Government is out with a new analysis that says Gov. Tony Evers' state agencies want $7.5 billion in new dollars for the 2023-2025 state budget.

“While most of Wisconsin and Wisconsin’s families are sitting around the kitchen table trying to put together their budgets with the same amount of money coming in the door, even while prices are rising, the folks in Madison don’t seem bothered by inflation at all. In fact, they’re willing to take more money,” IRG’s Director of State Budget and Government Reform Alex Ignatowski told The Center Square Tuesday.

IRG found the largest budget increase comes from Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction, which is asking for $2.5 billion in new funding.

“They are trying to say that this money is going to trickle down to local schools,” Ignatowski said. “But you and I both know this might be a pass through, but it’s not a 100% pass through. And DPI is not the most efficient at getting dollars into the classroom itself.”

DPI is not the only state agency asking for billions of dollars more.

IRG’s analysis says the state’s Department of Health Services is asking for $3.7 billion more.

The UW System is asking state lawmakers for nearly a half-billion dollars more in the next state budget.

Ignatowski said the request comes as most Wisconsin campuses are seeing fewer students.

“The landscape for post secondary education is changing. The market is starting to dictate what needs to be done in other post secondary settings, but the UW System is a little bit behind,” Ignatowski added.

There are other requests, including a $20 million ask from the Department of Safety and Professional Services which has come under fire for a months-long backlog for people needing a state license, and a $58 million request from the Department of Workforce Development, which struggled during the coronavirus pandemic to get people their unemployment benefits.

Almost none of the state agencies will get everything they are asking for. Republican lawmakers will write the next state budget, and have denied the same kind of massive spending increases in the past. But Ignatowski said that the agencies are asking is the headline.

“This just shows a huge disconnect between state agencies in Madison, that they are in a different world and a different bubble than your average Wisconsin family,” Ignatowski said.

(The Center Square) – After spending millions of dollars on campaign ads to paint Tim Michels as radical on abortion, Gov. Tony Evers is calling Michels dishonest for being open to exemptions to Wisconsin’s strict abortion law.

Michels on Friday told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Dan O’Donnell that he would sign a law allowing women who are the victims of rape or incest to get an abortion in the state.

“I am pro-life and make no apologies for that. But I also understand that this is a representative democracy. And if the people, in this case, the legislature, brought a bill before me, as you just stated, I would sign that,” Michels said.

Wisconsin’s current abortion law only allows for exemptions to save a mother’s life.

Evers had made abortion the centerpiece of his re-electon bid. He is running several ads that say Michels would not support exemptions for rape and incest.

On Friday, the governor all but called Michels a liar.

“Tim Michels is trying to save his flailing campaign with a dishonest attempt to hide his stance on abortion, even after making it clear just two weeks ago that he’s ‘not gonna soften’ his stance,” Evers said in a statement.

Michels told a Republican crowd earlier this month that he planned to stick to his pro-life stance because “I'm principled. And my wife and I, we know we have to answer to somebody higher than anybody on the face of the earth.”

Evers doubled-down on his campaign ads that say Michels is a pro-life radical.

“Michels has staked out the most extreme position possible on this issue, and as governor, wouldn’t hesitate to enact radical legislation that would put women’s lives at risk,” the governor added in his statement. “He’ll say or do anything to win an election, and he can’t be trusted to protect reproductive freedom.”

It’s unclear if the Wisconsin legislature would even consider introducing an exemption law.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu last week said attitudes about abortion among the Republicans who control the legislature remains the same.

"Wisconsin law has not changed and our pro-life position has not changed," LeMahieu said.

Voters largely support policies allowing police to detain suspects charged with violent crimes, a new poll shows. That's in contrast to recent policies being enacted in Illinois.

Convention of States Action, along with Trafalgar Group, released the poll, which found that the vast majority of surveyed Americans do not support policies that keep law enforcement from detaining those accused of violent crimes.

The poll found that 95.6% of those surveyed “say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports policies which prevent police from detaining criminals charged with violent crimes, such as kidnapping and armed robbery.”

“Crime is the beneath-the-iceberg issue for voters in 2022, it’s absolutely clear in these numbers,” said Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States. “Americans of all political backgrounds have a strong belief in protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty.”

Notably, 96.7% of Independent voters agree.

This comes as controversial city policies on police have gained nationwide attention. The newly passed SAFE-T Act in Illinois all but abolishes cash bail. Critics say this means that some charged with serious crimes like second-degree murder or kidnapping will be freed without a hearing.

Supporters of the law, set to take effect at the beginning of next year, point out it does not prohibit detention and that anyone deemed a flight risk can be detained. But critics of the law say proving a flight risk can be a difficult legal burden that won’t always happen, meaning violent criminals will quickly be back on the streets.

Pursuing suspected criminals has also become a controversial issue. In Chicago, police are restricted from pursuits for certain traffic violations.

A new law in Washington limits police officers from pursuing fleeing suspects. Suspected crimes have to meet a certain threshold, and word has spread quickly with suspects now fleeing police with no consequences.

The poll was carried out from Sept. 17-20 querying more than 1,000 likely midterm voters.

(The Center Square) – Tim Michels says Wisconsin’s State of Education speech was more of a political stump speech than a report card on the state’s schools.

Michels, who is running for governor against incumbent Gov. Tony Evers, told The Center Square Friday that State Superintendent Jill Underly’s focus on Pride flags and pronouns is frustrating parents across the state who want their kids to get back to the fundamentals.

“A lot of parents believe there’s too much indoctrination happening in schools,“ Michels said Friday. “Parents want their sons and daughters to be taught the ABCs. To get the life skills that are necessary to get a job and be a productive member of society,”

Underly mentioned parents in her speech just a handful of times, and never in a way that suggests moms and dads should have a say in what their kids are learning. Michels said parents must be involved in their kids’ education.

“Educrats in Wisconsin think they know what is best for students, they think they know what is best for schools, they think they know what is best for families, they think they know what is best for society,” Michels added. “It is not what families and parents want to have happen in their children’s education.”

Underly spent much of her speech arguing that Republican lawmakers have underfunded public schools for the past decade. Michels said the Republican-controlled legislature has actually sent more money to public schools than ever before, including a record $3 billion last year alone.

Michels said money isn’t the problem, the lack of learning is the problem.

“They don’t appear to be concerned about test scores and the literacy rate of students here in Wisconsin,” Michels explained. “It seems to be all about cramming a political ideology upon our sons and daughters.”

Numbers from Underly’s Department of Public Instruction show less than one-third of students are proficient in English or math. Sixty-four percent of fourth-graders are not proficient in reading. Wisconsin also ranks dead-last in reading achievement among Black students. While Hispanic students dropped from first in the nation to 28th while White students fell from sixth to 27th.

Michels said school choice is needed to improve the state’s public schools.

“Competition makes everyone perform better. If not, your business or your school lose,” Michels said. “That is the great motivator that will put school administrations and school boards on notice that the status quo is no longer acceptable.”