Wisconsin Right Now

Wisconsin’s pro-life groups are unified in telling the Wisconsin Supreme Court it is not the court’s job to create a right to abortion. Wisconsin Right to Life, Wisconsin Family Action and Pro-Life Wisconsin all filed a joint brief with the court that argues there is no right to abortion and add that if there is to be one, that decision is up to lawmakers. “The Supreme Court is not the proper venue to create health and safety law nor the proper mechanism to add a constitutional amendment. The legislature is the proper body to weigh the policy considerations and create law, not the court,” Wisconsin Family Action president Christine File said. “Finding a right to abortion in our state constitution, where there clearly is none, would be the most extreme form of legislating from the bench,” Dan Miller, state director at Pro-Life Wisconsin, said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled in Dobbs that there is no federal constitutional right to abortion. Nothing in Wisconsin’s cons...

The court is not saying when a decision in the case will come. The groups who want the new maps are asking to have the maps redrawn before 2024. A lawyer for the groups seeking to overturn Wisconsin’s legislative maps didn’t finish his first sentence before one of the state’s conservative justices demanded to know why he was bringing the case now. “Where were you? Where were your clients two years ago?” Justice Rebecca Bradley asked. “We've already been through this. Redistricting happens once every 10 years after the census. All of the issues that you're bringing actually could have been brought before this court two years ago.” A number of liberal and progressive groups, with the support of Democrats in Wisconsin, are challenging Wisconsin’s the maps. The groups say the maps are gerrymandered and favor Republicans. More specifically, they argue that because not every district is 100% connected, those maps are gerrymandered to the point where they are unconstitution...

Several groups promised to fight a new lawsuit that challenges school choice in Wisconsin. Kirk Bangstad, the owner of the Minocqua Brewing, last week filed a lawsuit that accuses Wisconsin's voucher programs of harming public schools in the state. “At the core of the issue lies the voucher school financing system, which appears to be designed more to harm school districts than to support voucher programs. The impact of this financing scheme has been devastating to Wisconsin’s school districts,” Brian Potts, an attorney on the case, said in a statement. Bangstad is challenging school choice based on Wisconsin's Constitution “The revenue limit and funding schemes for voucher school programs and independent charter schools violate the Wisconsin Constitution’s Public-Purpose Requirement and the Uniform Taxation Clause,” Potts said. “This parasitic funding system is pushing public school districts into an ever-worsening financial crisis, which is leading to what can only ...

Some law enforcement groups and police experts are blaming rising violent crime on a “toxic trio,” pointing the finger at anti-police rhetoric, lax prosecutors and the “defund the police” movement. “Defaming and defunding police has cops running for exits, as violence surges and we need them now more than ever,” said Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. “This should be a wake-up call." The comments come after recently released FBI crime statistics showed homicides increased in 2021, despite the fact that 2020 was a record-high year. Rape also increased, and vehicle thefts have risen more than 20% since 2019. Murder is up nearly 40% since 2019, the most significant increase since crime statistics of this kind have been tracked. "This report confirms there are two inextricably like public safety crises happening,” Johnson said. “Crime, especially murder, has risen precipitously since the summer of 2020 while law enforcement has been demoral...

“Before, drivers used to occasionally carry a firearm but now it is a very common thing,” Sanchez said. “We’ve seen drivers that we met that are wearing bulletproof vests.” Rideshare groups are dealing with a disturbing trend of violence against rideshare drivers in Illinois and the rest of the country. A new rideshare driver safety hub has opened up in the Chicago area and more could pop up around the state. Officials say the office in Park Ridge will offer legal support, safety and health resources, and a support network for drivers who have experienced trauma. Lenny Sanchez, director of the Illinois Independent Drivers Guild, said incidents of violence against rideshare drivers are out of control. “I say it is at crisis level is the best way that I can describe it,” Sanchez said. “We have met hundreds and hundreds of drivers that have been assaulted at gunpoint, their vehicle shot at by being lured in by the application.” Violence Against Rideshare Drivers Lyft received ...