Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee reckless driving; group hopes to curb the issue
Group hopes to curb Milwaukee reckless driving
Enough is Enough, an advocacy group committed to ending reckless driving in Milwaukee, released a report saying judges are being too lenient on felony reckless drivers.
MILWAUKEE – An organization aimed at curbing reckless driving in Milwaukee says harsher sentences are needed.
They released a report saying judges are being too lenient on felony reckless drivers.
What we know:
Capitol Drive is considered one of the city’s most dangerous roads.
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The group, Enough is Enough, has been trying to slow people down and believes harsher sentences are needed to do it.
For the past six months, Jeanne Lupo has spent most of her days at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
Local perspective:
“It’s a lot of hours from a lot of people and a lot of commitment,” Lupo said. “I think the community’s tired of the reckless driving.”
Why you should care:
Lupo is the president of the advocacy group. It’s aimed at curbing reckless driving, following a tragedy that hit close to home.
Erin Mogensen was killed by a driver fleeing a traffic stop. Lupo is a family friend.
“It was her fourth anniversary and she was eight weeks pregnant,” Lupo said. “He was a repeat felon out on probation and in our opinion should not have been on the road.”
What we know:
Since June, volunteers have attended more than 200 court cases related to reckless driving. They took notes and compiled data, releasing a report this week, finding in the 109 cases that went to sentencing, judges were more lenient than what the prosecutors were asking for 69% of the time.
Additionally, 35% of cases resulted in probation or the community reintegration center, formerly the house of corrections, not prison.
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“Our hope would be that we would drive change in the sentencing practices of our courts,” said Roger Paulson with Enough is Enough.
What’s next:
Lupo and the volunteers say they just want their findings to drive change. The group plans to release another report in the next six months as volunteers continue to monitor cases.
What they’re saying:
Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley:
The “Enough is Enough” initiative has rightly highlighted concerns about how reckless driving cases are handled and sentenced in the context of public safety. However, the initiative’s lack of scientific rigor and failure to account for the unique circumstances of each case undermine the impact of its recommendations. Every case involves an individual, not just a number, and each person deserves a thorough, individualized evaluation. Courts have a responsibility to impose the least restrictive sentence that ensures public safety, reflects the severity of the offense, and addresses the rehabilitative needs of the defendant. While the input of the initiative is appreciated, future efforts would benefit from integrating research-based practices and fostering community dialogue. This approach would enhance the effectiveness and credibility of the judicial process, and more importantly, work toward finding real solutions to prevent reckless driving.”
Milwaukee County Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern:
“I appreciate the time and effort that members of our community are spending to closely observe our justice system. I continue to welcome their presence in our courtrooms, because I believe it is important for our community to see first-hand how our justice system works on a daily basis. The more the general public engages with our justice system, the more responsive and effective our justice system will be.It is important for our prosecutors to strongly advocate in making guilty plea and sentencing recommendations that reflect not only the facts and circumstances surrounding each individual case, but also the general community safety concern in each case. We will continue to do so.”
Read the report
To view the full report, visit the Enough is Enough website.
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The number of yearly opioid overdose deaths in Milwaukee County continues to decline. Compared to 2022, there’s been a 54% decrease in fatal opioid overdoses, according to the county’s latest update to its Overdose Dashboard.
At a press conference April 21, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said that sharing this progress comes with mixed feelings.
“That data also tells us that 387 Milwaukee County residents lost their lives to drug overdoses last year,” said Crowley. “These are our neighbors. These are our loved ones, family members.”
In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared deaths from prescription painkillers an epidemic. That’s when local governments nationwide filed lawsuits against the parties involved in manufacturing, distributing and promoting opioids.
Dr. Ben Weston is the county’s chief health policy advisor. Weston explained the severity of how the nationwide opioid crisis was felt in Milwaukee County.
“We had one person dying every 16 hours from overdose,” said Weston. “Since then, there’s been a lot of work.”
Weston added that 17 people died from an overdose in a single weekend in 2023, which he described as “unimaginable levels of opioid use in our community.”
But 2023 was also the year that Milwaukee County learned it would receive $111 million over the next 18 years through opioid settlements. Weston said much of the county’s work has been preventative, like creating affordable housing, effective transportation and accessible mental health services.
Other efforts have addressed the crisis head-on, like installing free, no-questions-asked harm reduction vending machines, adding naloxone to emergency response vehicles and creating programs to prevent drug use among people who are incarcerated.
Weston said people exiting incarceration are susceptible to the highest risk period for overdose. As for the communities that face the highest risk of fatal overdoses, American Indian and Alaska Native residents are impacted the most.
Jeremy Triblett is the prevention integration manager at the Milwaukee Department of Health and Human Services. Triblett said the county’s FOCUS initiative, which stands for Featuring Our Community’s Untold Stories, is directly addressing Milwaukee’s Black, brown and Indigenous communities “to assess how they’re accessing their substances, and culturally, how does that intersect with their cultural norms.”
A community advisory board, comprised of people of color, is helping county officials facilitate discussions on harm reduction outreach.
Brice Turang drove in four runs and David Hamilton had four hits as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the Detroit Tigers 12-4 on Tuesday night.
Despite missing their top three hitters, the Brewers put 19 runners on base and scored in double digits for the second time this season. They have won five of six.
All nine Milwaukee starters reached base at least once, and Detroit catcher/knuckleballer Jake Rogers limited the damage by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
Detroit lost its second straight after winning eight of nine.
Milwaukee used speed and small ball to take a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Garrett Mitchell led off with an infield single, took second on a walk and scored on Sal Frelick’s base hit. Hamilton beat out a bunt to load the bases.
After Blake Perkins struck out, Turang lined a two-run single to right. Turang, though, got caught in a rundown between first and second and the Tigers threw Hamilton out at the plate when he tried to score.
Detroit loaded the bases with no one out in the fourth, but Grant Anderson relieved Harrison and got Javier Báez to ground into a double play. That made it 3-1, but Anderson struck out pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter to end the inning.
The Brewers made it 5-1 in the seventh on RBI singles by Turang and William Contreras.
Milwaukee added seven runs in an 11-batter eighth, an inning that included the fourth triple of Gary Sanchez’s 12-year MLB career.
Detroit scored three times in the ninth inning to cut the final margin to eight runs.
The teams continue the series on Wednesday night with the second of three games. Detroit RHP Casey Mize (1-1, 2.78) is scheduled to face RHP Chad Patrick (1-0, 0.95).
West Allis Fire demonstrates using Narcan for opioid overdoses
West Allis Fire Department Assistant Chief Armando Suarez Del Real illustrates how a Narcan nasal spray kit is administered in the event of an overdose.
The number of Milwaukee County residents who died from a drug overdose fell for a third year in 2025, which county officials say is a promising sign that more money spent on harm reduction, treatment and prevention efforts is working.
New data released April 21 show 387 overdose deaths across the county last year, down about 43% from their peak in 2022.
“The work is paying off,” Dr. Ben Weston, Milwaukee County’s chief health policy adviser, said at a news conference, touting the county’s vending machines stocked with Narcan and drug testing strips, as well as a state-sponsored data collection system that helps local health departments understand when and where overdoses occur.
Still, the hundreds of county residents who lost their lives last year to a drug overdose means that work isn’t close to done, officials say – especially as the drug landscape continues to change, presenting new challenges.
“We can’t let our foot off the gas quite yet,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Drug mixing continues to drive lethal outcomes
Milwaukee County’s decline in overdose deaths is a trend mirrored across the state and the country, following years of climbing fatalities that were deemed a public health crisis.
The county will spend $111 million in opioid settlement funds over the next several years and is already putting what it has received to use, focusing on “reaching residents where they are,” said Jeremy Triblett, prevention integration manager with the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services.
That includes initiatives like the harm reduction vending machines and also knocking on doors, providing county EMS workers with Narcan and seeking the opinions of people who use drugs to shape the county’s strategy.
But officials say they still see a concerning trend of combinations of drugs leading to overdose, particularly fentanyl being cut with stimulants such as cocaine. These mixes of drugs make it harder to reverse an overdose, said Dr. Wieslawa Tlomak, Milwaukee County’s chief medical examiner.
Nearly a third of all autopsies the medical examiner’s office conducted in 2025 were deaths by drug overdose, Tlomak said, and the majority involved multiple drugs. Data show the most common combinations were fentanyl and cocaine, cocaine and alcohol, and opoids and fentanyl.
Methamphetamines are also involved in more overdose deaths than a few years ago, Tlomak said.
For drug users, not knowing exactly what’s in the drug they are getting is one of the most dangerous elements of the current drug landscape, she said.
Fatal drug overdoses were most common among American Indian and Alaska Native residents in 2025, the data show, followed by Black residents. About two-thirds of fatal overdoses were in men, and the median age of death from an overdose was 49, a number that’s been climbing steadily since 2018.
Triblett said the county is focusing on how substances interact with cultural norms in different communities and that a community advisory board is convening to develop harm reduction messaging for specific populations. His team will also host a door-knocking event June 12 to reach new people across the county with prevention and treatment resources.
Madeline Heim covers health and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@usatodayco.com.
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