Milwaukee, WI

Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts legislative maps drawn by Republicans

Published

3 years ago

April 16, 2022

Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts legislative maps drawn by Republicans

MADISON – The Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom embraced a redistricting plan crafted by Republican state lawmakers Friday, three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Courtroom threw out election maps drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Within the 4-3 choice, Justice Brian Hagedorn joined the courtroom’s conservatives after earlier siding with its liberals. The ruling got here at one of many final doable moments, falling on the day that candidates might start circulating petitions to get on the poll.

The brand new maps tilt closely in Republicans’ favor, with 63 of the 99 Meeting seats and 23 of the 33 Senate seats leaning towards the GOP, in response to a December evaluation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

As a result of this fall’s election is so quickly — the first is 4 months away on Aug. 9 — the maps are all however sure to be those used this fall. However the long-term authorized battle is probably not over as a result of Democrats and their allies could problem the maps in federal courtroom for the elections that will likely be held in 2024 and past.

States should draw new election maps as soon as a decade after every census to verify legislative districts have equal populations. The place the traces go can confer benefits on one political social gathering.

Evers and Republicans who management the Legislature could not agree on new maps, so it fell to the state Supreme Courtroom to determine on the districts. In a 4-3 ruling final month the justices picked Evers’ maps, which had a Republican tilt to them although they have been drawn by a Democrat.

Extra:‘They’re infringing on my proper to vote’: Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom order makes it more durable for these with disabilities to vote

Republican lawmakers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Courtroom, which discovered the state courtroom had not offered sufficient proof justifying why the state was growing the variety of Meeting districts with Black majorities in Milwaukee from six to seven.

The U.S. Supreme Courtroom left in place the congressional district boundaries drawn by Evers and permitted by the state Supreme Courtroom. Friday’s choice by the state courtroom impacts solely races for the state Legislature.

In Friday’s 4-3 ruling, the justices concluded Evers had not offered sufficient proof to point out why race needs to be taken into consideration when drawing districts in Milwaukee. The Republican-drawn maps they adopted cut back the variety of Meeting districts in Milwaukee with Black majorities from six to 5.

Democrats or others are more likely to problem the maps in federal courtroom on the grounds that they do not adjust to the Voting Rights Act. With the election approaching so shortly, such a problem could have to attend till after this fall’s election.

Federal regulation is difficult as a result of it says mapmakers can not take into account race more often than not however should take it into consideration when they’re drawing traces in areas with excessive populations of minorities. The coverage is supposed to make sure Black and Latino voters have alternatives to elect the candidates they need.

“The Governor didn’t current proof of a (Voting Rights Act) violation, regardless of drawing maps on the idea of race. He produced no proof of electoral historical past and no district-specific proof demonstrating that the black communities he moved amongst districts could be denied the chance to successfully take part in democracy absent his proposed district traces,” Chief Justice Annette Ziegler wrote for almost all.

Ziegler was joined by Hagedorn and Justices Rebecca Bradley and Endurance Roggensack.

In dissent, Justice Jill Karofsky wrote that the justices wanted to take race into consideration for Milwaukee’s maps and concluded the majority opinion included a “willful silence on Milwaukee’s historical past of segregation and racial disparity.”

“Milwaukee’s historical past of pressured segregation created a historic racial gerrymander, limiting minority populations from the chance to exert affect outdoors of a restricted geographic space,” Karofsky wrote. “Moreover, the low charges of Black homeownership and excessive charges of evictions in Black communities lead to extra transient populations that change addresses regularly. These populations could face difficulties staying registered underneath the right deal with and offering essential proof of deal with underneath voter ID legal guidelines.”

She was joined within the dissent by Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebecca Dallet. (The 2 Bradleys on the courtroom should not associated.)

The state justices issued their opinion the identical day candidates might begin taking out petitions to get on the poll. Candidates want to know the place the traces are to allow them to be certain that the signatures they collect are from residents of their districts.

As with the opposite redistricting choices, Friday’s ruling got here right down to Hagedorn. He was elected in 2019 with the assist of Republicans however has dominated with the courtroom’s liberals in some high-profile circumstances.

Hagedorn sided with conservatives in November in a choice benefiting Republicans that set guidelines for drawing maps. That call mentioned the courtroom would make as few adjustments as doable to the present districts, which Republicans drew in 2011 to their benefit.

Hagedorn joined with liberals to decide on the maps drawn by Evers in March however re-joined the conservatives after the U.S. Supreme Courtroom threw out the March choice.

In a concurring opinion, he wrote that the state justices had basically run out of time.

“One resolution may very well be to develop a fuller report, make factual findings, and adjudicate a (Voting Rights Act) declare with a firmer factual basis. However the timing doesn’t work,” Hagedorn wrote. “It will undoubtedly require delaying statutory deadlines and in any other case disrupting the administration of the autumn elections.”

Hagedorn wrote that the courtroom might have drawn new boundaries itself “however time and our institutional limitations make that unrealistic at this juncture.”

“The remaining choice is to decide on one of many proposed maps we acquired because the baseline. Just one proposal was represented as race-neutral in its building: the maps submitted by the Legislature,” he wrote.

Republicans cheered the choice and Democrats decried it.

“We’ve thought our maps have been the most suitable choice from the start,” Meeting Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican from Rochester, mentioned in an announcement.

Democratic Lawyer Normal Josh Kaul dubbed the ruling “a travesty for democracy in Wisconsin.”

“The courtroom, making use of a brand new commonplace in a case it by no means ought to have taken, has made one of the crucial excessive gerrymanders in America even worse,” Kaul mentioned in an announcement. “This ruling entrenches management by politicians relatively than voters, sapping what life remained from any declare that our legislature meaningfully represents the Folks.”

Evers, in a tweet, known as the ruling “outrageous.”

“At a time when our democracy is underneath near-constant assault, the judiciary has deserted our democracy in our most dire hour. That is an unconscionable miscarriage of justice,” he mentioned in an announcement.

Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel employees contributed to this report.

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Comply with him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.

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Milwaukee, WI

Criminal justice advocates express high hopes for Milwaukee’s new district attorney | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Published

5 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Criminal justice advocates express high hopes for Milwaukee’s new district attorney | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

In the Milwaukee County Safety Building at 821 W. State St., Kent Lovern discusses his past, present and future as a prosecutor within the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. (Photo by Devin Blake)

District Attorney-elect Kent Lovern has made it a priority to listen to residents on the North and South sides of Milwaukee.

“What I have heard loudly and clearly is everyone wants to feel safe, and everyone wants that safety in their daily lives, and they want that for their children,” Lovern said.

At a ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 16, Lovern will be publicly recognized in his new role. With nearly 30 years of experience as a prosecutor, he’s recognized for his collaborative approach to systemic issues.

Lovern focuses on collaborations outside his office, in part, because he believes these collaborations are necessary to sustainably reduce violence and increase public safety in Milwaukee.

“I just feel like we need to better connect into one another and develop our own system of public safety – one that is really framed up as community development, economic development, educational development and the public safety comes with that,” he said.

Among Milwaukee’s large network of criminal justice advocates, many say they feel heard by Lovern.

“Kent has always been thoughtful and responsive to me,” said Emilio De Torre, executive director of Milwaukee Turners, which advocates for various criminal justice initiatives as well as those impacted by the criminal justice system.

Working together

“We can’t unring the bell of a crime, right? If somebody commits a crime, like myself, they need to be prosecuted,” said Adam Procell, who coordinates the monthly resource fair Home to Stay, for formerly incarcerated individuals reentering society. “But after that time period, when somebody gets out, he (Lovern) also understands that if we don’t provide the person with an opportunity to lead an optimal lifestyle, they’re going to have to prosecute them again for another crime.”

For Lovern, people reentering have a unique ability to lead others away from crime.

“People returning back to communities, looking to be proactive members of their community, looking for ways to help mentor young people and help instruct young people about the pitfalls and the mistakes they made – that’s a very powerful group,” he said.

Milwaukee County has the largest population of people on parole, probation or extended supervision in the state. At the end of October, nearly 13,000 people were under supervision, state correctional data show.

“On the whole, I have heard more interest in reentry across the board … than I have heard at any time in my career,” Lovern said.

Causes of crime

Lovern’s support of reentry is consistent with an overall preventive approach to crime.

He cites the relationship between drug addiction and crime as a good example.

“We’ve had a strong approach to this for some time, because right after John (Chisholm) was elected, 18 years ago, we created an early intervention unit, and that was immediately designed to offer opportunities for people to work through a criminal charge…and we’ve seen a lot of success with that.”

WISDOM, a statewide faith-based organization, wants Lovern to expand on this philosophy.

“There’s a lot of room for certainly expanding treatment alternatives to incarceration for people living with mental illness and with addiction issues, and there are many opportunities to divert more people from the system. I’m definitely optimistic that those types of programs will continue and will expand,” said Mark Rice, coordinator of WISDOM’s Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign.

Lovern is proud of Milwaukee’s mental health courts, which address cases involving mental health concerns, including assessments of competence and insanity pleas.

An intermediate goal the DA’s office is close to achieving, he said, is increasing the number of cases handled in these courts to 30 cases on an ongoing basis, compared to 10 cases previously.

“Somebody might come first through the police department or to the DA ‘s office, and we may be saying, ‘Look, this person isn’t really committing criminal behavior – the bigger concern here is the mental health piece,’” said Lovern.

Current crime and safety risks

Recent data from the Milwaukee Police Department show notable declines since 2023 in violent crimes, especially homicides and non-fatal shootings, and a reduction in most property crimes.

But certain violent crimes have increased since 2022, including robberies and carjackings.

“There’s no question that there is additional work that needs to be done to drive down the level of violent crime we see in this community,” Lovern said.

The problem, he added, is not evenly spread throughout the city.

A quarter of Milwaukee County homicides since 2023 occurred in only two ZIP codes.

“Everyone’s concerned about crime everywhere, but we know where the concentrations of violent crime exist,” said Lovern, adding that many residents in these neighborhoods tell him that we need “a strong response” to crime and that these “neighborhoods need to be valued.”

Limits of the office

Rice, of WISDOM, does not want fairness and justice to be lost, however.

“We still in Wisconsin incarcerate Black people at one of the highest rates in the nation,” he said. “There’s a lot of discretion up front when plea bargains are reached in terms of who gets diverted from the system and who goes in.”

Rice and others also worry about the systemic limitations of the DA’s office to address such problems.

“Jobs like the DA’s office, mayor’s office, police chief tend to be very difficult, with unforeseen pressures and inherent flaws in how they’ve been systemized over the years,” said De Torre, of Milwaukee Turners. “The real test is how a person acts and what they do within a flawed system.”

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Khris Middleton out tonight vs. Kings. Starters, TV channel, odds

Published

13 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee Bucks injury report: Khris Middleton out tonight vs. Kings. Starters, TV channel, odds

The Milwaukee Bucks try to bounce back tonight vs. the Sacramento Kings following a disappointing 34-point loss to New York on Sunday.

The Bucks (20-17) have won three of four and are in a dogfight in the middle of the Eastern Conference as they begin the day two games behind the Knicks in the loss column for the No. 3 seed but are behind Orlando (23-18) and Indiana (22-18) in the playoff standings.

The Magic, led by Milwaukee native and head coach Jamahl Mosley, are in town tomorrow night.

Sacramento fired head coach Mike Brown on Dec. 27 when they were 13-18 and under interim head coach Doug Christie the Kings have seven in a row and are 20-19 overall.

Is Giannis playing?

He is probable to play vs. the Kings. He has been managing pain in his right knee since training camp but has yet to miss a game with the issue.

Khris Middleton ruled out of Kings game

First, Khris Middleton was pushed back to the bench and now the team is taking him out of back-to-back situations. Middleton played 12 straight games from Dec. 6-Jan. 4, including a back-to-back set on Dec. 20-21.

But on Jan. 8 he was moved to the bench because of his continued minute restriction and issues surrounding his complete return from offseason ankle surgeries.

And he was immediately ruled out of Tuesday night’s game against the Kings on Monday, presumably to make sure he’s ready to play in a more important Eastern Conference game against Orlando on Wednesday night.

In a Bucks win over the Magic on Jan. 10 in Florida, Middleton scored 11 points and had four assists in just under 23 minutes of play.

Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. hosts coat drive

Second-year Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. is hosting a coat drive outside Fiserv Forum prior to home games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. New and gently used coats, hats, gloves and scarves will be accepted and donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Greater Amsterdam School District. Cash donations are accepted online here: Andre Jackson Coats | Powered By GiveSmart

The 23-year-old guard is from Amsterdam, New York, and played collegiately at the University of Connecticut.

What channel is the Bucks game on?

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast local on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.

Bucks injury report

Khris Middleton, out (bilateral ankle surgery injury management)
Gary Trent Jr., questionable (left hip flexor strain)
Ryan Rollins, questionable (non-COVID illness)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, probable (right patella tendinopathy)

Bucks probable starting lineup

Guards: Andre Jackson, Damian Lillard
Forwards: Taurean Prince, Giannis Antetokounmpo
Center: Brook Lopez

Bucks vs. Kings odds, over/under

Milwaukee is a slim 2.5-point favorite over Sacramento, with the over/under at 228.5 points per BetMGM.

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Milwaukee, WI

Weather webcast with Lisa Michaels

Published

20 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Mostly clear Monday night with temperatures dropping into the negative single digits inland to low single digits near the lake. A cold weather advisory has been issued for inland areas from 3AM to 9AM Tuesday. Wind chills below -20F are likely.

The cold continues Tuesday and Wednesday with morning wind chills -10 to -20 below zero. Afternoon wind chills remain from -5 to 5. Temperatures begin to warm by the end of the week back in the low 40s by Friday. However, another big drop comes in time for the weekend.

Posted January 13, 2025 8:08pm CST

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