From Green Bay to Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and beyond, those involved in the movement to remove their legislators who sided with Walker say it is their constitutional right to take action, and while they may not be hoisting signs and walking around the Capitol, they are working to change the makeup of those who serve within it.
Quoted: Dennis Dresang, UW-Madison professor emeritus of political science
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a UW-Madison political scientist.
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin.
They are supposed to be sober, adult and dispassionate. But recent events have legal and political experts wondering what the heck is wrong with the state Supreme Court.
Quoted: Donald Downs, a UW-Madison professor of law and political science, and Mordecai Lee, a UW-Milwaukee political science professor and former Democrat state lawmaker.
Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he should have done more to prepare the public for his plan to eliminate most collective bargaining for public employees.
“We had not built enough of the case” for the sweeping plan, Walker said during a wide-ranging session with Journal Sentinel reporters and editors.
The collective bargaining law, which goes into effect Wednesday, will allow future bargaining only on wages with increases capped at the rate of inflation. It also will require annual certification votes on union representation and bar deduction of union dues from public workers? paychecks.
“You go back just 10-15 years the Wisconsin State Supreme Court really was viewed as an exemplary institution of good government, above the political fray, ” said Howard Schweber, a political science and legal studies professor at U-W Madison.
UW System will no longer deduct membership fees from the paychecks of employees who are part of membership organizations such as the UW-Madison faculty group PROFS, or the academic staff group ASPRO.
Gov. Scott Walker vowed Monday to keep pushing for his plan to split off UW-Madison from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System, even after the state Legislature axed it from the two-year state budget. The state Legislature commissioned a special 17-member task force to study the structure of UW System. It must submit a report on that issue by Jan. 1. Walker will appoint two of the task force members. He said he will work with the state Legislature to develop reforms for the campuses by the next two-year budget.
Quoted: Howard Schweber, a political science and law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
MADISON, Wis. — A University of Wisconsin law professor said that bickering among the state?s Supreme Court justices has made the court a “laughingstock.”
Quoted: Howard Schweber, UW-Madison associate professor of political science and legal studies
MADISON, Wis. — A University of Wisconsin law professor said that bickering among the state?s Supreme Court justices has made the court a “laughingstock.” His comments come after a liberal justice accused a conservative court member of choking her during an argument earlier this month.
University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor Howard Schweber said infighting has made the court a laughingstock and the justices have become fodder for late-night comics.
Gov. Scott Walker signed a two-year $66 billion budget Sunday that will cut nearly $800 million from public schools, expand taxpayer support for private voucher schools, cut taxes for investors and businesses, clamp down on property taxes and put the state?s finances in better shape than they?ve been in for more than a decade.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a political scientist at UW-Madison.
Although the temperature was only in the 50s, the cool weather didn?t deter John Morgridge from being the first person down the slide into the new Tosa Pool at Hoyt Park at a preview party May 27, the night before the facility?s grand opening. Following Morgridge into the pool was Milwaukee County Parks Director Sue Black, and the two high-fived it afterward.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser allegedly grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers earlier this month, according to three knowledgeable sources. But a different account of the incident emerged Saturday, and Prosser said the allegation “will be proven false.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted sources saying Prosser made contact with Bradley to defend himself after she charged toward him. Details of the incident, investigated jointly by Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, remain sketchy. The sources spoke on the condition they not be named, citing a need to preserve professional relationships.
(The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism also collaborates with Wisconsin Public Television, the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication and other news media.)
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Republican Gov. Scott Walker left the state budget largely intact, using his powerful veto pen to issue only 50 changes before signing it into law Sunday. The lack of changes indicate Republicans who control the Legislature handed the governor most of what he wanted as they revised the two-year, $66 billion budget.
It means the 51-unit Pres House Apartments will remain tax exempt, sparing it an annual cost of about $200,000.
“We?re thrilled,” said the Rev. Mark Elsdon, executive director of the Pres House ministry. “We take it as an affirmation of the work we?re doing and the value of it.”
Noted: Walker also used his veto pen to eliminate Board of Regents review and approval of University of Wisconsin-Madison compensation, personnel system plans and tentative labor agreements because “these plans will already require approval from the Joint Committee on Employment Relations?? and “removing this level of approval will give the state?s flagship campus the level of autonomy it needs to successfully compete in the global higher education environment.”
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — Having survived months of protests, injunctions, and appeals, Wisconsin?s budget is now officially law.
ASHWAUBENON (WKOW) — Gov. Scott Walker signed his first budget on Sunday afternoon at a private ceremony near Green Bay.
In signing the two-year $66 billion budget, Governor Scott Walker eliminates the debt saying ?Republicans and Democrats alike have caused this problem.? He says ?Unfortunately for all of us ?honest budgeting? was one of those areas where both political parties tended to look the other way.?
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Protecting the dogs who help protect us, that?s the idea behind the Wisconsin Vest-A-Dog organization that has made a very special donation to the University of Wisconsin Police Department K9 Unit on Thursday. The bullet resistant and stab resistant vest will go to the newest member of the unit, Odin.
Progressives have found precious little to like in the 2011-2013 budget Gov. Scott Walker will sign into law Sunday at a ceremony in Green Bay. But perhaps the most regressive item is a new tax loophole ? disguised as an economic development tool ? that is projected to cost the state hundreds of millions in lost revenue over the next decade.
Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, UW-Madison professor of public affairs and applied economics
The tens of thousands of protesters have left. The metal detectors are gone. But a small reminder of the massive demonstrations that rocked the state Capitol for weeks on end remains. A mysterious heart-shaped red balloon still floats inside the Capitol dome, where it has hovered high over the rotunda since mid-February. Some say it has been hovering atop the dome since Feb. 14, the day hundreds of protesting UW-Madison students and teaching assistants held a Valentine?s Day march along State Street before flooding the Capitol with “valentines” for the governor and signs reading, “Please don?t break our hearts.”
Marquette University officials acknowledged Wednesday that the university made mistakes in how it handled student reports of sexual assaults and said they?ve worked out a way to improve how they report sexual assaults to city police. Previously, officials with Marquette?s public safety department left it up to the student who reported a sexual assault whether to report that assault to the Milwaukee Police Department. But that was against Wisconsin law, which mandates that a private security firm that believes a crime has been committed has to promptly notify police. Now students will be told the incident will be reported, but they have a choice of whether to talk to police.
It?s nice to see that Gov. Scott Walker?s ?open for business? mantra extends beyond the traditional sectors of Wisconsin?s economy ? agriculture, tourism and manufacturing ? to the biosciences and biotechnology. The Republican governor plans to tout Wisconsin as a great place for scientific businesses to thrive next week at the 2011 BIO International Convention in Washington, D.C. This is no small thing for Madison and Dane County, which are home to UW-Madison, its more than $1 billion in annual research, and a growing number of private companies making breakthroughs and developing products in the life sciences.
A provision in the state budget would give more legal protection to researchers performing animal testing in the state.
Some animal rights activists say this will let researchers off the hook for animal cruelty, while researchers say it is necessary to close a loophole to ensure scientific studies continue. The amendment would exempt animal researchers in Wisconsin from any state criminal penalties for animal cruelty. Researchers would still be liable under federal law if they violate the protocol of their research institution.
A provision inserted in the state budget would prohibit UW Hospital and Clinics from funding abortions, but it?s unclear whether that will stop the hospital from offering required abortion experience to doctors-in-training. Abortions are not performed at UW Hospital and Clinics, but obstetrics and gynecology residents train at Planned Parenthood to learn about family planning, which includes the opportunity to perform abortions. State law currently prohibits the use of public funds to pay physicians to perform abortions with few exceptions, but the new legislation specifically targets UW Hospital and Clinics. UW Hospital and Clinics is a public authority and does not receive state funding.
The concealed carry bill is heading to Gov. Scott Walker?s desk for his signature. The Assembly has passed the legislation with bipartisan support Tuesday.
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin state Assembly passed a bill Tuesday with bipartisan support to legalize the carrying of concealed weapons, a change Republican Gov. Scott Walker supports and was expected to quickly sign into law.
Legislation legalizing concealed carry in Wisconsin is on its way to the Governor?s desk, following a bi-partisan vote in the Assembly Tuesday night. The legislation includes permit and training requirements, which supporters say will help to ensure the public is protected.
After a successful 10-year run, “In Wisconsin” has been cancelled by Wisconsin Public Television. Patty Loew, a professor at UW-Madison and the show?s host, said she was disappointed by the cancellation of the news and documentary program, but has fond memories of her time with the show.
“It was a program that reached into communities all over the state and I worked with some really talented people,” she said. The show?s cancellation comes after a large number of staff retirements and turnover, according to Kathy Bissen, director of production at WPT.
About 100 illegal immigrants took advantage of a law allowing them to pay in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin System schools in the 2010-11 academic year, according to a State Journal analysis, under a short-lived program that will likely expire July 1. Republican Gov. Scott Walker is expected to sign a two-year budget that will ban resident tuition for illegal immigrants, ending a program that former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, signed into law just two years ago. The State Journal obtained data from the 13 four-year campuses in the UW System and found that about 70 illegal immigrants filed paperwork for resident tuition in 2009-10, while about 100 did so in 2010-2011.
University of Wisconsin System administration must cut about 50 full time positions — or 40 percent of its staff — under the budget that Gov. Scott Walker is expected to sign this week. That means the size of administrative staff will be reduced from 126 to about 75.
The University of Wisconsin System is bracing for budget cuts that will require it to cut some positions.
The University of Wisconsin System has gotten some of what it wanted from the state budget. The Madison campus will not be spun off, although the issue will be studied. Michael Spector, President of the UW System Board of Regents, said the campuses will have some long sought flexibilities in areas including budgeting and personnel management. ?Not everything we wanted in those areas, but certainly a significant amount. I think, the way legislation works, it?s a good start for the next biennium,? he said.
The state Assembly is expected to vote today on legislation legalizing the concealed carry of weapons in Wisconsin. The bill passed in the state Senate earlier this month creates a permit system and requires training to carry concealed guns and other weapons.
The University of Wisconsin System has gotten some of what it wanted from the state budget. The Madison campus will not be spun off, although the issue will be studied. Michael Spector, President of the UW System Board of Regents, said the campuses will have some long sought flexibilities in areas including budgeting and personnel management. ?
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political-science professor.
In Wisconsin, the partisan fight over public union rights is changing the culture of the state. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with political science professor Kathy Walsh from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
As Chancellor Biddy Martin prepares to clean out her office in Bascom Hall by August, the coming national search for her successor should take into account some trends that are shaping higher education in other states.
The pay is good. The perks are, too. But who will want to be the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison? When Carolyn “Biddy” Martin abruptly announced last week that she was leaving the top post to become president of Amherst College, it was clear her relationship with the Board of Regents and UW System President Kevin Reilly had soured over a battle for campus autonomy, hatched behind her bosses? backs. With budget cuts looming and a raucous political atmosphere in Madison, the new person at Bascom Hall will have to be tenacious, politically astute and a peacemaker. Moreover, that person will have to show that leading a top-five public research institution has somehow not been tarnished by the turmoil.
And so, after six contentious months, the state of Wisconsin has a budget, a $66 billion spending plan balanced on the backs of the state?s children….We are already paying a price for this. UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin is gone. She may have been the university?s best hope for adapting to the future but she got caught up in Gov. Walker?s schemes and her position became untenable. I expect we?re going to see many of our best faculty members leave, too. It?s one thing to work here for less money than you can earn elsewhere; it?s another to work in an environment where the Legislature takes pride in cutting schools.
Wisconsin State Journal editorial page editor Scott Milfred appeared on Sunday morning?s “Upfront with Mike Gousha” on Milwaukee television station WISN-TV Ch. 12. He linked UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin?s departure to her frayed relationship with UW regents and UW System administrators following her push to split the Madison campus out of the System in Republican Gov. Scott Walker?s state budget.
We are two extremely lucky people. We lived through the horrific experience of being the targets of a pair of students who, in separate crimes, carried guns into college classrooms at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, and at Northern Illinois University on Feb, 14, 2008. All around us, the lives of our classmates were senselessly ended. It was the most intense, stressful and frightening experience of our lives.
Wisconsin state politicians believe the way to deal with such campus violence is to allow college students to bring loaded, hidden guns onto campuses. This provision is part of the concealed carry legislation that passed the Wisconsin Senate and is set for a vote in the state Assembly on Tuesday.
Gov. Scott Walker has vowed that Wisconsin, on his watch, will generate 250,000 new private sector jobs by 2015 — a promise being followed closely by both the governor?s supporters and detractors. But a report released Friday by a liberal UW-Madison think tank says governors actually have little control over job creation in today?s global economy.
Quoted: Joel Rogers, director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategies
Do you sometimes wonder if Wisconsin has the least-educated legislature in America? Wonder no more. The answer? Not even close. The percentage of Wisconsin?s state legislators with at least a four-year college degree is slightly higher than the national average, according to an analysis of the 7,000-plus state representatives across the United States by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Despite having one foot out the door, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin could have a hand in some key campus decisions before leaving next month for her new post as president of Amherst College.
Although no one is suggesting Martin would do anything to harm the university, several key campus players confided to The Capital Times that they?d nonetheless have a problem if she made any significant moves now that she has decided to leave town for a different job.
Maybe to encourage a little horse-trading of ideas among people of good will from both ends of the political spectrum, the next exorbitantly paid UW-Madison chancellor could choose something on the Socratic Method for an upcoming Go Big Read program.
Quoted: Katherine Curtis, a demographic specialist and faculty affiliate of the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Don?t let legislators who voted for Gov. Scott Walker?s trash-and-burn budget try to tell you they believe that all women are full citizens with equal rights and equal protections under the law. They don?t.
Republican state senators, such as Alberta Darling and Sheila Harsdorf, voted for a budget that actually increases expenses for the supposedly cash-strapped state in order to fund discrimination against women.
Although no one is doing back flips because of an impending cut of $250 million in state taxpayer support over the next two years, University of Wisconsin System officials are generally pleased with the budget bill now awaiting Gov. Scott Walker?s signature. System leaders are most excited about the measures in the bill granting campuses across the state some long-sought freedoms from state oversight when it comes to construction, personnel systems, procurement and accountability reporting.
Gov. Scott Walker?s aggressively austere budget is one step from becoming law, but state officials say its effects are already being felt across Wisconsin. The state Senate on Thursday night passed the $66 billion plan, which uses a combination of budget cuts and corporate tax breaks in an attempt to close an estimated $3 billion budget hole while trying to spur the economy and promote business growth. The measure aims to reduce the state?s structural deficit by about 90 percent by 2013, from $2.5 billion to $250 million. To do this, it cuts more than $1 billion from public schools and the University of Wisconsin system. It also holds property taxes practically flat, which severely limits local officials? ability to recoup lost revenues.
The Legislature on Thursday handed Gov. Scott Walker his budget remolding government at every level, even as new details emerged on how it could lead to the expansion of the state?s school voucher program to many districts around the state.
With the Senate?s vote today, the budget bill awaiting Governor Walker?s signature offers significant leadership flexibilities for all University of Wisconsin System institutions. The two-year budget reduces taxpayer support for UW institutions by $250 million, but it includes long-sought statutory changes in budgeting, financial management, personnel, and other areas. Together, these measures should help mitigate the impact of those cuts.
Noted: ?UW Police were called because they have special equipment. We do have lock-cutting devices here but because of the special locks and being around their neck, we had a team from UW Police that came out here with special equipment. The locks were removed and the two individuals were taken into custody.?
The Wisconsin Senate has passed the state budget, which is now ready for Governor Scott Walker?s signature. Minority Democrats argued the $66 billion two year budget hurts the working poor and elderly while cutting funding for education and local services
The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate has passed the $66 billion state budget, sending it to Gov. Scott Walker, who promises swift ac
The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate has passed the $66 billion state budget, sending it to Gov. Scott Walker who promises swift action.
