Last Thursday, the Dane County Board of Supervisors passed a large criminal justice reform package intended to address racial disparities in policing and incarceration. While local officials say the package is an important first step in bringing concrete change, some Madison residents criticized the package for not going far enough. The Dane County Board of […]
County delays development of new jail facility
[Editor’s Note: After this story aired, a member of the County’s Public Protection and Judiciary Committee reached out to clarify that, while budgeting issues are at play, the committee’s vote to postpone the jail project was in order to revisit and plan social and racial justice reforms associated with the project.] Last week, Dane County […]
Dane County Board introduces new criminal justice reform package
Dane County leadership introduced fourteen new criminal justice reform measures today. Put forward by County Board Chair Analiese Eicher and Supervisor Shelia Stubbs, the reforms would create new jail diversion programs, amend charging and sentencing procedures and establish new transparency policies for Dane County’s police. The proposals are the result of years of study by […]
City, County officials skeptical of county’s reopening strategy
In a press release issued this morning, a dozen Madison Alders and Dane County Council Members expressed their concern over the county’s plans to begin reopening non-essential businesses this week. In the release, the officials wrote that the move into Phase One of Forward Dane is premature and could result in a spike in COVID-19 […]
Legal Action Against the Lame-Duck Legislative Session
Last week, a federal judge ruled that early voting restrictions signed into law during Wisconsin’s lame-duck session in December violated a 2016 court order. For the first part of today’s episode, we speak with Analiese Eicher, program director at One Wisconsin Now, one of the organizations that filed the court challenge. Then, we hear from Representative […]
Fighting the Lame Duck Bills
On Friday, December 14, outgoing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed legislation passed during an extraordinary session that limits the authority of Democrat Governor-elect Tony Evers and of Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul, and sets limits on absentee and early voting. Evers and Kaul both won their respective elections on the strength of historic turnout in Madison […]
