Why out-of-state donors are pouring money into the Wisconsin recall election
One liberal activist has accused Scott Walker -- who's raised much of his money for a likely recall election from out of state -- of "traveling across America selling out Wisconsin to the highest...
View ArticleWisconsin GOP passed redistricting with almost no public support
By now, the notion that outside special interests drive the political process is so widely accepted as to be almost a cliche. And often this belief is buttressed by the disclosures that lobby groups...
View ArticleAnthony Shadid will be missed in Madison and around the world
Earlier today, a television reporter stopped by to talk with me about Anthony Shadid, one of my former interns at "Isthmus". The reporter, camera running, asked me if I had any idea back then just how...
View ArticleWisconsin union lobbying plummets in last half of 2011
When the unions' lobbying money flowed, it really flowed. And then, for the most part, it dried up. During the first half of 2011, labor unions collectively reported spending more than $7 million on...
View ArticleWisconsin's nonprofit news outlets are not all the same
The other day at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association's annual convention in Madison, I represented the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism on a panel titled, "Nonprofit News: What You Need to...
View ArticleChanges in Wisconsin sales taxes not very likely
Todd Berry is nothing if not realistic. His 18 years at the helm of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance have taught him that good public policy often doesn't get past the gatekeeper of politics. "The...
View ArticleWisconsin Freedom of Information Council 2012 Opee Awards recognize media and...
As part of national Sunshine Week, March 11-17, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is bestowing its annual "Opee" Awards for openness in government. And Wisconsin state lawmakers have been...
View ArticleWisconsin Supreme Court justice Patience Roggensack decided case involving...
In late 2006, a Grant County jury ordered Daniel Virnich and Jack Moores to pay a $6.5 million judgment, the largest in Wisconsin that year. The lawsuit brought by receiver Michael Polsky had accused...
View ArticleWisconsin Supreme Court justices battle over recusing themselves
In 2009, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack recused herself from a case involving a lawyer who had worked for her. But in 2011, she had a change of heart. Roggensack decided, without...
View ArticleWisconsin Supreme Court justices weigh in on the recusal issue
In 2010 and 2011, Wisconsin Supreme Court justices issued nearly 200 opinions. In 18 of these, one or more justices declined to participate, usually without explanation. Eight of these cases involved...
View ArticleWisconsin Supreme Court out of step with national standards on recusal
Wisconsin's Supreme Court justices are sharply split -- not just on when they should not take part in a given case, but even over whether the court has the authority to make such calls. The depth of...
View ArticleReforming the Wisconsin Supreme Court's approach to recusal
The Brennan Center for Justice has recommended that Wisconsin take four steps to reform its rules for judicial recusals.
View ArticlePolitical robo-calls don't work, but will not go away
Stevens Point columnist Bill Berry, writing just after Wisconsin's recent presidential primary, called it perhaps the only thing our deeply divided nation can agree upon: "Robo-calls suck." He's right....
View ArticleGov. Walker downplays out-of-state fundraising
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, appearing on the April 29 episode of "UpFront with Mike Gousha," laid out his concern about the upcoming recall election: "The big question mark for me," Walker told the...
View ArticleGov. Walker downplays promise of 250,000 new jobs
Gov. Scott Walker is downplaying his pledge to create 250,000 new private-sector jobs by the end of his term, a review of his official pronouncements suggests. Walker's office and campaign staff say he...
View ArticleHuge recall campaign contributions still flowing in to Walker, other Republicans
It's been called a quirk in state law and even "an outrageous loophole." In fact, it was a deliberate change with unintended consequences. The change, passed in 1987, temporarily allows unlimited...
View ArticleYes, we have no super PACs in Wisconsin
The other day a reporter from Swedish Public Television contacted the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism regarding the role of super PACs in Wisconsin's historic recall elections. "How much...
View ArticleWinners and losers in Wisconsin's 2012 recall elections
As the dust settles on Wisconsin's tumultuous recall elections, let's acknowledge some of the winners and losers with appropriate commendations.
View ArticleWisconsin Department of Administration thumbs nose at state law on outside...
The law could hardly be clearer or more unequivocal: Wisconsin state statute 16.705(8) requires the state Department of Administration to file a report by Oct. 15 of each year regarding the hiring of...
View ArticleWisconsin's congressional delegation is loaded with multimillionaires
The requirement that all members of Congress file annual financial disclosure reports serves a worthy purpose. Passed as part of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, a post-Watergate reform, it's...
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