Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee living has become unaffordable for too many people | Opinion
In the first half of 20th Century, Socialists helped make Milwaukess an affordable, comfortable, well-governed place. Now, there’s been a fundamental change to the character of this city.
Milwaukee Greentree apartments defy stereotypes of public housing
The success of the “Wisconsin Anti-Poverty Model” at Greentree-Teutonia apartments is built on relationships with residents and the community.
Life in Milwaukee is unaffordable for too many people, and it’s getting worse. We’re a city that used to be an affordable, comfortable, well-governed place to live. Socialists helped make it that way in the first half of the 20th century through deep, sustainable investments in public infrastructure and public programs. Neoliberalism, though, has undone much of the strength of our world class city.
Now, after multiple recessions, decades of defunding infrastructure and services at the state, county and city levels, and now with an economy thrown into chaos by President Trump, Milwaukee has become one of the twenty most expensive cities in the country. By some estimates, a household now needs at least $134,000 in income to live comfortably here.
That’s a fundamental change to the character of this city, one that deeply worries me — as both a Milwaukeean and a legislator representing much of our city.
Change in city’s character hitting renters hard
This is hitting renters hard: between the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2024, Milwaukee’s median rent went up a staggering 28%. And this didn’t happen accidentally. We have a system that’s been made to work very well for landlords and real estate interests, who’ve made rent control and habitability inspections effectively impossible here. Unsurprisingly, that means rents are going up while housing quality goes down. It’s difficult to be a tenant in Wisconsin.
Housing isn’t like most other things we buy and budget for. People invest emotionally in the places they live and the people they live alongside. Homeowners build equity too while getting predictable housing costs, at least under most mortgages. But an East Side apartment that used to cost $1200/mo is not replaceable by a house in Oconomowoc that costs the same – very different people prefer one to the other, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise.
We must keep this top of mind while making housing policy. Most people don’t want to leave their neighborhoods, especially the close-knit ones in our district. They want to stay where they’ve already put down roots, whether as a homeowner or a renter. When a family leaves, it’s too often because they can no longer afford to live here. That’s a problem that can’t be solved by zoning changes alone – it’s not a bad thing if some communities want to allow more back cottages and even duplexes and triplexes, but that simply isn’t enough, and isn’t a viable solution for many neighborhoods.
We can do much more to keep Milwaukeeans in their homes.
A Right to Counsel — providing attorneys for people facing eviction – is a proven way to do that: I led the successful effort to make it law in Milwaukee County back in 2021, and it’s since kept thousands of people in their homes, given them extra time to seek rent assistance, and sealed misleading eviction records to help renters keep renting. Expanding Right to Counsel statewide is a core part of our tenant protection package, but securing permanent funding for the existing program here in Milwaukee is critical.
Since its creation, Milwaukee’s executive leadership has attempted to defund the program – which has thankfully been saved by votes by the Common Council and Milwaukee County Board. This is despite the clearly positive results for tenants and landlords alike, and despite every dollar spent on the program saving us $4.66 in other costs. A statewide, well-funded program can build on and sustain that legacy, ensuring that Milwaukee residents — and folks across the state — will benefit from the stability that Right to Counsel creates.
Ban discrimination against Section 8 voucher recipients
We’re also proposing to ban discrimination against Section 8 voucher recipients, to establish stronger protections for tenants organizing for better living conditions, to lift arbitrary restrictions on inspections for lead and for other profound habitability issues, and to enact other key protections that blunt the worst practices of small and big landlords alike.
These protections are urgent and necessary because real estate interests and landlords are aggressively fighting to make things harder for tenants. Just before the end of the session, they pushed AB 202, a bill that would undermine some of the very few protections for tenants in Wisconsin law. Very few of my colleagues who are landlords recused themselves – that’s an obvious conflict of interest, but it’s the norm in a legislature where tenants’ needs come last.
The underlying problem in our housing system is a deep dependence on capital, not democracy, to choose where and when we build new housing. When the federal government raises interest rates, it makes both private and public housing funding more expensive, so developers build less. When rent forecasts go down, developers build less — putting the lie to the notion that private housing builders and landlords are somehow at odds.
Our long term goal must be housing as a human right. That means social housing or public housing for people who want them, but also transparency and accountability for private landlords, an end to exploitative, uncapped rent extraction, and an effective ban on low quality housing. In the meantime, better protecting tenants will help all of us.
Rep. Ryan Clancy represents the 19th District in the Wisconsin Assembly. He is also a former Milwaukee County Supervisor.
MILWAUKEE — Fans in Milwaukee are waking up to the news that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded, ending a 13-year run with the Bucks that included a championship in 2021.
The news of the trade broke late last night, and fans have mixed emotions about the move.
Before the trade happened, TMJ4 spoke with fans in Milwaukee about what they wanted to see happen.
Some fans were focused on what the Bucks could get in return.
Alonna Johnson
“If he gets traded, we get like some valuable pieces for him at least. I don’t want Bam Adebayo. I want Tyler Herro because he’s from Milwaukee so you know he’s a hooper they can keep bound,” Khorey said.
Others acknowledged Antetokounmpo’s impact even without following the sport closely.
Alonna Johnson
“I’m not a basketball fan myself but I know who Giannis is. And that says someone whose background is theater. We got a championship from him,” Halana said.
A mural created in honor of Antetokounmpo’s achievements on and off the court now stands as a reminder of his legacy in the city.
For those who predicted Antetokounmpo could be traded — they were correct.
Alonna Johnson
“I don’t like to see him get traded. I don’t like that. But the franchise is not big enough. Giannis needs to move in another direction,” Scheila said.
Not everyone was ready to accept the change.
Alonna Johnson
“Not saying that there’s anything wrong with anybody else, but Giannis is like the Bucks. So I would prefer if he didn’t because it’s just going to be weird. And then it’s like, who can follow in those big old footsteps,” Nariah said.
We’ll continue to bring you updates on the trade on-air and online.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Scene at 68th and Capitol
MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee DPW truck ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle on Monday afternoon, June 22.
Crash details
What we know:
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, just before 3 p.m. a DPW truck was heading east on Capitol when it ran a red light at 68th Street and crashed into a sedan that was heading north on 68th.
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A passenger in the DPW truck, a 44-year-old, was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-fatal injuries.
The driver and only person in the sedan, a 25-year-old, was also taken to the hospital for treatment of non-fatal injuries.
The driver of the DPW truck was cited for running the red traffic light.
The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department sent FOX6 the information. FOX6 crews also went to the scene.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Mayor Johnson says he’s not aware of FBI interviewing city election officials
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says he is unaware of any city election officials, current or former, who have sat for an interview with FBI agents seeking to discuss the 2020 election.
“I know there’s been outside counsel that has been engaged on this as well, which I’m grateful for, the partnership we’re having with some of the outside counsel there,” Johnson said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “But my understanding as of this moment is no.”
Agents are said to be specifically asking questions related to Milwaukee’s nearly 180,000 absentee ballots and the processing of those ballots at the city’s central count location.
The ballots have yet to be destroyed. The county’s corporation counsel has cited an ongoing lawsuit as the reason for preserving the ballots.
Johnson said he doesn’t know all the details about why the ballots are still there, but he wants the privacy of Milwaukee voters to be protected.
“If there was or is an opportunity to destroy that, to secure the sanctity of the vote for the people in Milwaukee, so that they know that their vote is private and the federal government can’t figure out who folks voted for, I think we should do that,” Johnson said.
Meantime, Don Millis, the Republican chair of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission, is urging Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to intervene and destroy Milwaukee’s 2020 absentee ballots.
Millis told “UpFront” he had a “very constructive conversation” with Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson and learned there were 265,000 absentee ballots from which it could be determined who voters cast their ballots for, not just for the presidency, but other offices as well.
“No one’s entitled to see those,” Millis said. “Our constitution was built on the idea of a secret ballot, and I’m just frustrated that this hasn’t happened. I just wish the decision makers who are in charge of this would see that and move more quickly.”
Millis added, “Best case scenario would be tomorrow. But I just don’t think that’s going to happen. I think it’s going to probably be weeks or months before that happens.”
Millis said the law permits the ballots to be destroyed.
“No one has a right to see them, and so if there is quote unquote litigation, those are documents that should not be sought to a litigation hold,” Millis said. “And it would seem to me incumbent upon the court to see it that way and give permission for Mr. Christenson to do what he’s authorized and required to do.”
Millis said there has been staff-level discussion with the attorney general’s office.
“I’d be satisfied if he chose to intervene, to take the steps that need to be taken,” Millis said.
Milwaukeean Tyanna Buie is one of 30 artists selected to have work featured in the Obama Presidential Center, which officially opened Friday.
“It still hasn’t set in yet,” Buie told “UpFront.” “It still feels like a dream. I remember when I was first contacted, they never said what the project was.”
Buie recalled that conversation, when she was told “You’re good to go.”
“I said, ‘Who is they? What are we talking about?’ And that’s when they said, ‘Oh, we didn’t tell you. It’s the Obama Presidential Center,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness.”
Buie said her piece is in a room themed “fired up for change.”
“And it was also a space where people can sit, lounge and just take it all in,” she said. “Just the scale of the magnitude of everybody’s work is phenomenal, so I’m grateful to be included, but also super excited for people to see it.”
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Milwaukee residents react to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s legacy before trade goes through
