Tag: Tony Evers

Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called it “a sad day for our state” and suggested it would be appealed, saying the U.S. Supreme Court would have the final say.

…

The maps from parties to the lawsuit are due by Jan. 12, with supporting arguments due 10 days later. Reports from the consultants are due by Feb. 1, with responses a week later. That means the court will release new maps likely sometime in late February or early March unless the Legislature acts first.

Unions in Wisconsin sue to reverse collective bargaining restrictions on teachers, others

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Seven unions representing teachers and other public workers in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit Thursday attempting to end the state’s near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees.

Unions in Wisconsin sue to reverse collective bargaining restrictions on teachers, others

Related:

Wisconsin’s Act 10 Is in Jeopardy (WSJ)

The law, signed by former Gov. Scott Walker, has saved the Badger State from turning into Illinois or New York, where public unions essentially run the state government for their own benefit. According to the MacIver Institute, Act 10 has saved Wisconsin taxpayers $16.8 billion since it was passed in 2011, making public finances more manageable at every level of government.

Progressive mayors who publicly rail against the law know that repealing it would wreak havoc on municipal budgets. According to Wisconsin Right Now, Milwaukee’s budget says it has saved about $345.4 million in health insurance since 2012 because of Act 10’s requirement that public employees contribute to their health plans.

The lawsuit by teachers and other public unions focuses on a narrow part of the law that exempts public-safety employees. The unions say this creates a “favored” class of workers and imposes “severe burdens on employees in the disfavored group.” Act 10’s “anti-democratic regime,” the unions continue, subjects “general” employees “to a panoply of burdens and deprives them of important rights,” while exempting police officers and firefighters from “all its injurious provisions.”

Attacks on Public-Sector Unions Harm States: How Act 10 Has Affected Education in Wisconsin

A Decade After Act 10, It’s A Different World For Wisconsin Unions

WSJ quotes MacIver Institute, from the Atlas Network via State Policy Network, Bradley Foundation, and Americans for Prosperity (Kochtopus). Former WI Governor Scott Walker, another Atlas/Koch tool, does not rule out intervening.

Neo-Nazi Blood Tribe marches in downtown Madison; leaders respond

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

A neo-Nazi group protested in downtown Madison Saturday afternoon from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus to the state capitol building, carrying flags with swastikas and shouting antisemitic rhetoric.

Neo-Nazi group marches in downtown Madison; leaders respond

Related:

Who are “Blood Tribe” and what were they doing in Madison?

Armed Neo-Nazis With Swastika Flags Disrupt Wisconsin Pride Event

VICE News Leaves Out Connections to Ukraine in Their Story on American Neo-Nazis

Wisconsin supreme court appears poised to strike down legislative maps and end Republican dominance

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Wisconsin supreme court appears poised to strike down legislative maps and end Republican dominance

Taylor Meehan, an attorney for legislative Republicans, argued that districts had long been considered to be contiguous as long as they kept towns, counties and wards whole. In Wisconsin, localities have annexed disconnected parts of land that have resulted in strange shapes. “You can define contiguity as strictly or as loosely as you want,” she said.

They look like Swiss cheese!

Related:

Advocates rally to protest Wisconsin’s ‘etch-a-sketch gerrymandered maps’

Wisconsin Republicans withhold university pay raises in fight over school diversity funding +

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
WisPolitics

Wisconsin Republicans withhold university pay raises in fight over school diversity funding

Related:

University of Wisconsin is shutting down in-person instruction at two branch campuses

Wisconsin Senate passes $2B tax cut package, though Evers veto likely

Evers had called on the Legislature to pass a package that included $365 million in new child care funding; a $65 million boost in University of Wisconsin funding; $200 million to pay for a new engineering building at UW-Madison; $243 million to create a new 12-week family medical leave program for Wisconsin workers and millions more for workforce education and grant programs.

The Republican bill would also create a state tax credit for families paying for child care; increase income tax deductions for private school tuition; make professional credentials granted to workers in other states valid in Wisconsin; and prohibit state examining boards from requiring counselors, therapists and pharmacists pass tests on state law and regulations. 😳

Foxconn Selling Two Empty Wisconsin Buildings After Failed Promises to Bring Jobs to the State

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Source

The manufacturing project became infamous when former President Trump broke ground at the site and red flags became immediately apparent.

Foxconn Selling Two Empty Wisconsin Buildings After Failed Promises to Bring Jobs to the State

Related:

Trump promised this Wisconsin town a manufacturing boom. It never arrived.

Roughly 100 homeowners and farmers were forced to move, sometimes under threat of eminent domain, so their properties could be bulldozed to make way for the campus, according to residents and village officials. The village paid more than 40 percent over market value for that land, officials noted.

‘The quiet part out loud’: Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial nominee makes extreme promise to supporters if he wins

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

In the 2022 midterms, MAGA election deniers haven’t necessarily been as overt as Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake or her Pennsylvania counterpart Doug Mastriano. Some have never acknowledged that President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election but avoid discussing the Big Lie. In Wisconsin, however, Democrats are slamming Republican gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels for saying “the quiet part out loud” and essentially promising that if he defeats Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers on November 8, he would simply throw out any election results that he doesn’t like.

‘The quiet part out loud’: Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial nominee makes extreme promise to supporters if he wins

Wisconsin GOP candidate calls for ‘pitchforks and torches’

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin endorsed by Donald Trump is calling for people to take up “pitchforks and torches” in reaction to a story that detailed his giving to anti-abortion groups, churches and others — rhetoric that Democrats say amounts to threatening violence.

Wisconsin GOP candidate calls for ‘pitchforks and torches’

[Wisconsin] Governor candidate Tim Michels criticizes Foxconn deal after making millions on the project

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

MOUNT PLEASANT – Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels says the deal Scott Walker struck to bring Foxconn to Wisconsin was a problem and is also criticizing the Evers administration’s renegotiation of the Foxconn contract.

Governor candidate Tim Michels criticizes Foxconn deal after making millions on the project

Previously:

Democrats challenge nominating papers of Trump-backed Republican governor candidate Tim Michels