CONTACT: Tom Sheehan Court Information Officer (608) 261-6640 Madison, Wisconsin  – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has appointed Dane County Circuit Court Judge William E. Hanrahan as chief judge of the Fifth Judicial Administrative District. Hanrahan replaces outgoing Chief Judge James P. Daley, Rock County Circuit Court, who retired from the bench effective March 2, 2018. Hanrahan will serve the remainder of Daley’s appointed term, to July 31, 2019 or until further order of the Supreme Court. Hanrahan, who presides over the circuit court’s criminal division, was appointed to the Dane County bench in 2007. He was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2014.

Contact: Aaron White Phone: 202-225-5506 Email: Aaron.White@mail.house.gov Grant will help build new transit transfer center Eau Claire – Today, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind announced that the city of Eau Claire received a $5 million grant from the Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. The grant will be used to build a transit transfer center in downtown Eau Claire, and add four new buses to the Eau Claire Transit system. “Eau Claire’s busy and constantly expanding downtown is a magnet for small businesses, tourism, and outdoor recreation,” said Rep. Ron Kind. “I am excited to announce that Eau Claire has received

Contact: Brian Rothgery 414-278-4230 or brian.rothgery@milwaukeecountywi.gov Invites Racine and State of Wisconsin to Collaborate with Milwaukee County MILWAUKEE – County Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb, Sr. has proposed a new bus service from Milwaukee and Racine to the Foxconn Technology Group complex in Mt. Pleasant, a service that could ultimately bring more than 1,300 workers to the facility every day.  “We can make real progress on connecting workers to jobs by launching new bus service that links Milwaukee and Racine to the soon-to-be-built Foxconn complex in Mt. Pleasant, and we should start now.  A dedicated bus line that connects hundreds of workers in Milwaukee and

MEDIA CONTACT Mike Browne, Deputy Director mike@OneWisconsinNow.org (608) 444-3483 ‘Yet More Evidence He Can’t be Trusted to be Impartial’ MADISON, Wis. — In a recent interview, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Michael Screnock again refused to commit to removing himself from hearing cases as a judge involving his past work as a hired gun attorney for Gov. Scott Walker. One Wisconsin Now Research Director Joanna Beilman-Dulin said cases involving former clients and in which Screnock argued for one side present a clear conflict of interest. “Issues involving former clients and cases on which you argued for one side over another are clear conflicts

Contact: Amy Hasenberg, (608) 266-2839   MADISON – Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill (AB) 538 into law today at the Wisconsin State Capitol. AB 538 prohibits the transfer of an individual from a hospital’s emergency department to another facility for emergency detention until a hospital employee or medical staff member determines the transfer is medically appropriate.In addition, the bill specifies that a health care provider can satisfy his or her duty to warn about an individual whom they believe has a substantial probability of harming his/herself of others by 1) contacting law enforcement; 2) contacting the county department who needs to

Contact: Amy Hasenberg, (608) 266-2839   “This is Wisconsin, not Washington, D.C. We actually get things done here in this state by working together.”   MADISON–Governor Scott Walker released the following statement today after meeting with members of the Senate Republican Caucus at the Wisconsin State Capitol. “We had a good meeting with Senate Republicans today. I thanked them for their work in advancing several items on our Ambitious Agenda like school funding, lowering health insurance premiums, and welfare reform. We had a productive discussion on our child tax credit and sales tax holiday, protections for those with preexisting conditions, rural

Contact: Sen. Hansen 608-266-5670 (Madison)—Joined at a press conference today by Dr. Robert Kraig of Citizen Action and people directly impacted by the predatory practices of some generic drug makers, Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) unveiled a plan he is introducing with State Representative Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg) aimed at tackling the growing problem of predatory pricing by makers generic and off-patent drugs. “We are seeing example after example of drug companies increasing prices on much-needed generic drugs by as much as 500%, 4,014% and even 8,281%,” said Hansen.  “This can’t be allowed to go on.” Recent examples of drugs that

CONTACT: Andy Nelson, Media Manager (414) 475-8675 nelsonai@milwaukee.k12.wi.us MILWAUKEE (March 7, 2018) — National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) runs from March 5 – 9, 2018, and is a celebration of the School Breakfast Program. This year’s NSBW theme is “I Heart School Breakfast.” This week highlights the ongoing efforts by Milwaukee Public Schools to improve and support academic achievement by providing students with high quality, nutritious meals, with an emphasis on exceptional customer service and financial responsibility. NSBW is a collaboration with National Nutrition Month, which is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the Academy of

CONTACT: Shannon Nelson Communications Manager Wisconsin Hospital Association, Inc. snelson@wha.org 608-274-1820 WHA President/CEO Eric Borgerding: “Wisconsin’s hospitals and emergency departments are often the safety net for patients suffering a psychiatric crisis.  This new law takes important steps to ensure patients in need of emergency psychiatric treatment receive the best, most appropriate care. Assembly Bill 538 was crafted through the bipartisan leadership of Representatives John Jagler and Eric Genrich and Senators Rob Cowles and Janis Ringhand from recommendations created by WHA’s Behavioral Health Task Force. WHA has been proud to work with these lawmakers on this important legislation and applauds Governor Walker for

Contact: Ben Voelkel WASHINGTON – During an appearance on Bloomberg News Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) explained his concerns with the administration’s plan to enact tariffs on aluminum and steel that could negatively affect Wisconsin consumers and manufacturers, and underscored the importance of Congress’ role in trade. Excerpts from Senator Johnson’s appearance are below and video can be found here. “The president said he enjoys conflict. Markets don’t like conflict, investors don’t like conflict. Markets like stability and certainty and so do investors. I am highly concerned with this administration’s move that could spark a trade war. The president

CONTACT: Carly Wilson 414.278.4212 Office Carly.Wilson@MilwaukeeCountyWI.gov MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele is proposing the County Board amend the Milwaukee County General Ordinances to terminate pension benefits to employees who are convicted of felony crimes. Since taking office in 2011, County Executive Abele has worked hard to clean up the County’s long muddled pension and benefits system. In 2011 he pushed for the reform of the sick leave system that is saving millions of dollars and in 2013 he closed a loophole in the infamous pension backdrop program. More recently, County Executive Abele convened a work group to look