Wisconsin

Assembly sends voter ID constitutional amendment question to Wisconsin voters

Published

1 year ago

January 14, 2025

MADISON – Wisconsin voters in April will decide whether to amend the state constitution to include the state law requiring voters to show photo identification while casting ballots — a move Republicans are hoping will protect the law from being overturned by a liberal-controlled state Supreme Court.

Assembly lawmakers on Tuesday approved a resolution 54-45 to ask voters in the April 1 election to approve the photo ID amendment. The vote was the last hurdle in a two-year process to amend the state constitution and will put the question to voters in the same election they will decide partisan control of the state’s highest court.

State laws already require voters to show photo identification, but the measure now moves the question to voters in a statewide referendum on the spring election ballot. If passed, the rule will be included in the Wisconsin Constitution.

Adding the voter ID requirement to the constitution would make it more difficult for the state Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional. It also would be harder for Democrats to repeal the law if they gain control of the Legislature in future years.

The implementation of the state law that requires voters to show photo identification increased ballot security, Republican authors argue, but the side effects have disproportionately hit Black voters in Milwaukee who are more likely not to have a photo ID and less inclined to seek one than their white peers, experts and advocates say.

Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The remaining 14 states and Washington, D.C., use other methods to verify the identity of voters.

A national poll conducted by Pew Research Centers in January 2024 showed broad support — 81% — for the idea of requiring voters to show government-issued IDs to vote.

To obtain a state ID card, voters must complete an application at a DMV customer service center, where they are required to provide proof of name and birth (through a birth certificate, passport or certificate of naturalization), Wisconsin residency, U.S. citizenship and their Social Security number.

Advocates have said the difficulty in obtaining a birth certificate can be among the bigger hurdles for some in acquiring an ID.

Since the state’s voter ID law survived legal challenges and went into effect for the 2016 presidential election cycle, a host of advocacy groups have emerged to study and help voters navigate the law.

Their findings show a drop in accessibility that began in 2012, when Republicans took control of state government, and accelerated after the voter ID law became practice.

If approved by Wisconsin voters, the amendment would still let lawmakers decide what types of photo ID are acceptable and create exceptions. Voters who don’t have a photo ID when they go to the polls could still cast a provisional ballot, which is counted after they return to their clerk with their ID.If voters reject the amendment, the state will still require photo ID to vote under existing laws.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin multi-county police chase, 2 people from Illinois arrested

Published

15 minutes ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin multi-county police chase, 2 people from Illinois arrested

article

Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office

FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. – Two people from Illinois were arrested following a police chase that started in Fond du Lac County and ended in Winnebago County on Friday, May 8.

Initial traffic stop

What we know:

According to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, just after 1 p.m. the sheriff’s office got an alert for a stolen vehicle out of Illinois heading northbound on I-41 from County Road Y.

It was learned that the vehicle was involved in two different police chases in the past week in Illinois, but had eluded officers each time.

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A short time later, a deputy spotted the vehicle on I-41 near Winnebago Street. The deputy continued to follow the suspect vehicle northbound, waiting for more deputies to get into position to attempt a high-risk traffic stop. Once those deputies were in position, a high-risk traffic stop was conducted. The vehicle initially pulled over and stopped, but right after deputies got out of their squad cars and started telling the people to get out of the vehicle, it instead fled northbound on I-41.

Chase into Winnebago County

What we know:

The chase went into Winnebago County, with the vehicle failing to pullover and instead speeding up. As the chase continued, the vehicle continued driving recklessly, passing by other vehicles on the interstate, including passing on the shoulder and weaving between vehicles, all at a high rate of speed.

The vehicle exited I-41 and ran three red lights. The chase continued southbound on State Highway 26, with the vehicle continuing to pass vehicles at a high rate of speed on the two-lane highway.

The vehicle then went off the road and drove through the yard of a home before circling around in the yard, traveling through the ditch, and reentering the highway going northbound. It then went into a field near County Road Z and Clay Road.

As a sergeant with the sheriff’s office was moving in to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT Maneuver), the suspect vehicle went into reverse and rammed the front of the squad. The vehicle then attempted to leave the field by traveling through a ditch and back up onto the road, where another sheriff’s squad ended the chase by intentionally striking the vehicle and pushing it off the road and back into the ditch.

The vehicle rolled over in the ditch, came to rest upright, but was then disabled and could not move. Two people got out of the vehicle and were taken into custody. The vehicle started on fire and a fire department had to respond to extinguish the fire. Both people from the vehicle were evaluated by medical personnel on scene.

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Facing charges

What we know:

The driver of the vehicle was identified as a 23-year-old man from Des Plaines, Illinois. He was taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail on the following charges:

Fleeing/Eluding an Officer
1st-Degree Reckless Endangering Safety (2 Counts)
Resisting/Obstructing Officer
Delivering Illegal Articles by Inmate (Ecstasy Pills).

The driver’s criminal history in Illinois was flagged as armed and dangerous with previous weapons offenses, dangerous drug offenses, and criminal damage to property.

The passenger of the vehicle was identified as a 23-year-old woman from Franklin Park, Illinois. She was taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail on the following charges:

Fleeing/Eluding—Party to a Crime
1st Degree Reckless Endangering Safety—Party to a Crime
Possession of THC
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Resisting and Obstructing an Officer

The Source: The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office sent FOX6 a press release.

Police ChasesFond du Lac CountyNews

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Wisconsin

Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars

Published

12 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars

The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.

Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.

She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.

Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, have been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter. Outagamie County Jail

Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.

Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.

The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.

The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.

Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.

Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.

Melissa Goodman — Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill. WBAY TV-2 | Green Bay, WI/YouTube

From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.

Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.

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Wisconsin

‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair

When “Song Sung Blue” – the biopic about Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder – had a premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee last December, star Hugh Jackman gave Claire Sardina (played in the film by Kate Hudson) an engraved bench honoring Lighting & Thunder to be installed at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

In August, Sardina will get to have a seat on that bench – and sing again on a State Fair stage.

Sardina will perform with tribute act So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience Aug. 9 at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater, the largest stage at the fair featuring free concerts with admission.

For Sardina, it will be a return to a place central to Lighting & Thunder. The band performed in the Milwaukee area from 1989 until Mike Sardina, aka Lightning, passed away in 2006. The State Fair was one of their favorite places to play, and the couple got married there in 1994.

The couple’s wild story – from a performance at a Pearl Jam Summerfest concert to major health issues – was the subject of the documentary “Song Sung Blue” that inspired the biopic, and earned Hudson an Oscar nomination for portraying Claire Sardina.

Fair officials May 8 revealed the full headliner lineup for the stage, which includes: