• A Milwaukee County supervisor is calling for a public vote on the financing of the county’s courthouse renovation project.
• The estimated cost to overhaul the nearly 100-year-old complex has doubled to approximately $897 million.
• Officials have described the current courthouse complex as outdated and a public safety concern.
• The proposed referendum would require County Board approval for any additional financing needed for the project’s construction phase.

A Milwaukee County Board supervisor wants the public to weigh in on the county’s multi-million dollar project to revamp the the county’s downtown courthouse complex.

In early July, the county updated its project estimate to $897 million to overhaul the crumbling downtown courthouse complex, roughly doubling initial projections.

Supervisor Justin Bielinski, who has been the biggest opponent to the project on the board, authored a resolution calling for a contingent referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot. The referendum would ask voters whether they would require County Board approval for any additional financing needed for the construction phase of the courthouse project.

The resolution, which will go before the finance committee on July 23, also asks for the transfer of $18,000 from the appropriation for contingencies to the Milwaukee County Election Commission to offset the cost of the referendum.

“A capital project of this size is likely to require substantial long-term borrowing, debt service, and future budget commitments by Milwaukee County, which may place upward pressure on the property tax levy to service the debt issued to finance the project,” Bielinski’s resolution says.

The more than 320,000-square-foot Courthouse Complex is almost 100 years old and is home to the county’s criminal courts, County Jail as well as the Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices. The existing judicial buildings have been called “severely outdated” and “functionally obsolete,” creating public safety and security concerns over the years as its maintenance backlog exceeds $75 million.

June 24, 1938 – June 19, 2026

Marilyn Ardis Savage, 87 died from Parkinson’s disease on June 19, 2026 at Ave Maria. She was born June 24, 1938 in Minneapolis, MN to Elmer S. and Mabel A. (Salmela) Sako.

Marilyn graduated from North High class of 1956. She went on to get a Bachelor’s of Science at the U of M. In 1960 she started teaching at John Hay Elementary. In 1975 she married Carl Savage and they went on a leadership conference for media specialists for their honeymoon. In 1982 Marilyn completed her Masters of Science in Information Media at SCSU. Marilyn and Carl were active in the MN Educational Media Organization and published the Minnesota Media magazine. They worked in a group to create Information Media guidelines for the state of MN and Marilyn spoke at events and invited other teachers to observe the curriculum in her media center.

Marilyn touched a lot of lives as a teacher. She was well liked and respected by her students. She commented that it was important to have good relationships with students because you never know when one is going to become your anesthesiologist!

Marilyn and Carl loved to travel and spent many summers in TN visiting his family and in FL where they bought property where they planned on retiring. Their trips were full of adventures like when they unknowingly traveled with a couple of identity thieves.

Marilyn became a widow in 1991 and retired from Zachary Lane Elementary in 1997. Retirement gave her the opportunity to pursue her love of travel. She and her best friend, Jan Sorell, traveled to China and Hawaii together as well as many other smaller trips. Marilyn also visited her nephew in Alaska and even volunteered at a summer camp in Finland. She remained active in her community, helping plan YMCA fundraising events. One of her greatest joys was spending time with her close friends in the “Lunch Bunch,” who gathered each week at their favorite restaurant.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Carl, sister Evon and fur babies Sase, Sadie and Chloe.

She is survived by nieces Lauren Sako (Scott Krein) Jamestown, ND; Elaine (Keith) Pyle Crystal Lake, IL; stepson Clay (Anita) Savage Hernando, MS; nephew Dave (Lisa) Hendrick Anchorage, AK; niece Theresa Brown Counce, TN; grandnephew Benjamin Salomonsen Hubert, NC; grandniece Natalie (Nik) Eccless Duelm, MN; two great grandnieces and many cousins.

A celebration of life will be held at Benson Funeral Home on July 18th. Visitation at 10am and service at 11am. Lunch after the service. Following the luncheon, Marilyn will be laid to rest at the Cokato Finnish Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to the Carl & Marilyn Savage Scholarship in Information Media at St. Cloud State University. https://scsu.mn/give

TODAY

Partly sunny and warm with scattered showers and thunderstorms likely through much of the bookends of the day. Highs reach the mid 80s, with a west southwest breeze around 5 mph. It does not look like nonstop rain from start to finish, but this is the least reliable daytime period in the forecast, and any stronger storm could drop a quick heavy downpour with a gusty burst of wind. 

TONIGHT

Scattered showers and thunderstorms remain possible through the evening, then another lower-end storm chance lingers late overnight. Lows settle near the upper 60s, with light wind. The severe risk looks lower than it is Thursday night, but a few pockets of heavier rain are still possible if a boundary stalls close enough to central Indiana.  

TOMORROW

Mostly cloudy and not quite as hot, with another chance for showers and thunderstorms developing mainly after mid afternoon. Highs reach the low to mid 80s, with a light northeast breeze around 5 mph. Much of the first half of the day should be usable, but later afternoon and evening plans will still need a weather eye.  

TOMORROW NIGHT

A few showers and thunderstorms may linger early, then the trend turns quieter with mostly cloudy skies overnight. Lows fall to the upper 60s, with an east northeast breeze around 5 mph. It is a calmer setup than Friday night overall, even if an early interruption is still possible.  

SUNDAY

Mostly sunny and warmer with highs in the mid 80s. An east breeze around 5 to 10 mph keeps the day from feeling too stagnant, and this looks like one of the cleaner forecast days of the stretch. Most of central Indiana should stay dry from start to finish.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Mostly clear and seasonably mild, with lows around the mid 60s and a light east northeast breeze. Quiet weather continues overnight with no meaningful travel concerns.  

MONDAY

Sunny and hotter, with highs climbing into the upper 80s. A light east wind around 5 mph holds through the day. After the unsettled end of the workweek, this looks like a very usable summer day with heat becoming the main story instead of storms.  

MONDAY NIGHT

Mostly clear and warm, with lows near 70 and only a light breeze. There will be little trouble overnight, and the warmer pattern settles in more firmly.  

TUESDAY

Sunny and hot again, with highs near 90. Wind stays light, becoming east southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. This is another day where the weather looks broadly quiet, with heat the main thing to plan around.  

7 DAY FORECAST

The main concern in the near term is the unsettled Friday into Saturday period, when repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms could bring quick heavy rain, especially Friday afternoon and evening. After that, the pattern trends warmer and drier from Sunday into at least Tuesday, with highs returning to the upper 80s and lower 90s while heat index values stay more manageable than the late-June heat. By Wednesday and Thursday, isolated afternoon and evening storms begin to creep back into the forecast, with a more noticeable thunderstorm threat showing up later next week into next weekend.