Contact: Maddie Zimmerman, maddie.zimmerman@legis.wi.gov, (440)725-9466
AG thinks packet of ideas makes up for years of inaction
MADISON – Political expediency has been the M.O. of Attorney General Brad Schimel in the months leading up to his re-election, and yesterday he only made that goal clearer after releasing six pages of initiatives.
A statement from the Attorney General’s office released outlines several of the programs that the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has been cultivating for some time now. The ironically timely release of these programs coincides with what has become the norm of AG Schimel during this re-election cycle.
“This time around, Attorney General Schimel went so far as to pat himself on the back for how many kits have been tested in the past few months, which, frankly, is horrifying considering he’s been sitting on millions of dollars in grant funding for years,” said State Representative Melissa Sargent.
September marks three years since AG Schimel received nearly $4 million in grant money to expedite sexual assault kit testing. A few months ago, Attorney General Schimel finally tested the thousands of backlogged sexual assault kits that have been under his direction for the entirety of his time in office.
If this most recent stunt doesn’t scream politics at play, AG Schimel has been slowly rolling out his school safety grants, which the Legislature approved months ago. Although the beginning of the school year is just days away, many schools won’t know how much they’ll receive in grant funding until days before the November election.
“This is not the place nor time to play politics,” said Sargent. “These are people’s lives that are at stake here; they’re not asking for much, they’re simply looking for the Department of Justice to do its job.”
“At this point, there’s no hiding Schimel’s intentions. With mere months until the election, he’s pulling out all the stops,” concluded Sargent “The actions he has taken in the past few months are clearly for his own political benefit, and not in the best interest of Wisconsinites.”
