Author: Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin police departments were already struggling to draw and keep officers, and calls for accountability have made it even harder. Like many people across the country, Lauren Phillips remembers watching the murder trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin. She and her police academy classmates in Eau Claire waited for a verdict in silence, hoping justice would be served and that Chauvin would be held accountable. “Everyone was anxious. Everyone was hoping that the right thing would come about,” said Phillips. “But, at the same time, we’re all sitting there, like, what happens if this goes south? We...

Governor Tony Evers is touring the state to promote new electoral maps he says will make elections in Wisconsin more competitive. The maps are an alternative to a redistricting plan recently introduced Republican legislators, which the governor says he plans to veto if they remain in their current form. As lawmakers and courts prepare for a likely legal battle over what Wisconsin’s voting districts will look like next year, Evers is touting a new set of electoral maps drafted by the People’s Maps Commission. The commission, which was created by an Evers’ executive order in January 2020, consists of...

Wisconsin’s top Republicans unveiled new political district lines on October 20 that would help preserve their majorities in the Legislature until 2032 and increase the odds that Republicans will win six out of eight of state’s congressional seats. The move set up standoff with Governor Tony Evers that is all-but-certain to be decided in court, where the outcome could go a long way toward deciding who holds power in state government and who doesn’t. Legislative district lines are redrawn at least once every decade after the release of new population data from the U.S. Census. The last time redistricting...

The timing of when Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will leave his post for the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg is still unknown, but the field of people hoping to replace him continues to grow. As of October 20, seven people, including two Milwaukee Common Council members and the county sheriff had filed papers to run for his seat. President Joe Biden announced Barrett’s nomination to serve as ambassador to the small European nation in August. Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, said the date of the election to replace him depends on his confirmation by the U.S....

People living temporarily on public property would be subject to criminal charges, including fines and jail time, under a new Republican bill in the state Assembly. It has raised fierce opposition from critics who say it will harm people experiencing homelessness. The bill received a public hearing Tuesday, less than a week after it was introduced as part of a package of legislation that Assembly Republicans say is aimed toward addressing the state’s workforce housing shortage. Those bills include provisions around zoning and approval of new workforce housing projects for certain local governments. On Tuesday, the Assembly Committee on...