MADISON, Wis. – Following yesterday’s release of the most recent revenue estimates, Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) acknowledges that the state Legislature will have its hands full trying to balance next year’s budget. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau is reporting that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on employment and the economy, preliminary tax collections for May were down $66 million from the same month last year. That is on top of the $870 million reduction in April, putting the total for the past two months at $936 million. According to the LFB, the decline in revenue can

MILWAUKEE – ACLU of Wisconsin executive director Chris Ott made the following statement regarding Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ remarks blaming Racine County’s COVID-19 outbreak on “immigrant culture.” “Speaker Vos should apologize or explain his claim that the outbreak of COVID-19 in Racine is a product of ‘immigrant culture.’ It’s a product of immigrants being more likely to have jobs as essential workers, which puts them at higher risk of infection. It’s also a product of racial discrimination and economic disadvantages which raise barriers to adequate healthcare and  often deny immigrants and people of color the safer work and

MADISON – Gov. Tony Evers today announced hospitals across Wisconsin will receive direct payments from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) to assist with lost revenue and expenses they’ve incurred related to the COVID-19 pandemic in March, April, and May 2020. DHS will distribute these payments from $40 million of funding provided to Wisconsin under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. “Our hospitals have been doing more with less throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for vulnerable Wisconsinites and keeping our communities healthy and safe,” said Gov. Evers. “This support is critically needed as we continue

La Crosse, WI— Today, Rep. Ron Kind (WI-03) and Reps. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-15), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), and John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) introduced bipartisan legislation to expand access to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for farmers and ranchers. The PPP was created by Congress under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in order to assist small businesses keep employees on payroll and cover other business-related expenses, helping them weather the economic damages caused by COVID-19. Currently, many farmers are being deemed ineligible for PPP loans due to reporting negative net incomes to the IRS as a result of low commodity prices and wet planting seasons in recent years. This

ANTIGO, Wis. – Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, Wisconsin’s adjutant general, visited a Wisconsin National Guard COVID-19 specimen collection site June 4 in his hometown of Antigo, Wis. In his first visit to Antigo since his March 5 appointment as adjutant general, Knapp also toured local businesses and talked to residents about serving the state and community in which he grew up. “It’s awesome to be back in Antigo,” said Knapp. “It was such a great place to grow up in, and it’s where I learned my values and work ethic.” Knapp last visited his hometown in uniform shortly after 9/11

UW-Stevens Point campuses will welcome students to its three campuses this fall. “While many details are being developed to ensure a safe learning and living environment, we will be here for you as the fall semester begins Sept. 2,” Chancellor Bernie Patterson said in a message to students. Classes will be taught in a mixture of in-person, hybrid and online formats, with as much face-to-face learning as health and safety guidelines allow. Classes with more than 50 students will be delivered online. Students may choose to take most classes online if they are not comfortable attending in person. “We will

Deb Weaver, administrative assistant for undergraduate programs and department inquiries in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, is a recipient of a 2020 Excellence in University Service Award. Weaver, who self-identifies as the “mother hen” or “butt kicker” of the office, sought to model her life after her father and grandfather who demonstrated great integrity, kindness, exceptional work ethic and strong affinity for “doing the right thing.” Weaver’s colleagues attest their daily interactions with Weaver in the workplace would make her role models proud. A person who nominated Weaver for the award wrote:

MILWAUKEE – The ACLU of Wisconsin, along with more than 35 other legal professionals and organizations, submitted a letter on Wednesday to Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer demanding that the hundreds of protest-related municipal citations be dismissed. In the letter, the ACLU of Wisconsin asked Spencer to follow the lead of New York, where District Attorneys in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx announced they would not prosecute people arrested and accused of low-level offenses, such as disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, during the protests. “Local leadership is essential for the safety of our communities and the vitality of our democracy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) to follow up on their previous letter to Attorney General Barr requesting that the Department of Justice open an investigation into patterns and practices of racially discriminatory and violent policing in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). The senators asked for an explanation from Attorney General Barr on why he did not respond to their letter and to explain his statements on June 7 in an appearance on Face the Nation during which he said, “I don’t think necessarily starting a pattern or practice investigation at this stage is

June 11, 2020, Milwaukee WI: “Assembly Speaker Robin Vos should resign his leadership position given his racist and false claim that immigrant culture is to blame for COVID-19 outbreaks in Racine County, the district he represents,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera. [Read Vos’ comment here] “This is 2020, not 1920. Instead of recognizing the important contributions immigrant essential workers and their families make to Wisconsin’s economy, he scapegoats them to absolve himself of his own failure to protect the health and lives of all workers against COVID-19,” she said. Many immigrants work at essential jobs side-by-side

MILWAUKEE – Supervisor John F. Weishan, Jr., is proposing creative solutions to help fund Milwaukee County parks, which have suffered from a lack of investment and budget cuts due to the county’s growing structural deficit.  “Our parks are struggling, and we need to come up with solutions now. If we don’t try new and novel solutions, we risk losing more parks facilities to neglect, and we risk losing public access to the creep of privatization,” said Weishan.  Weishan’s proposal includes three components:  1. A county-wide 50/50 raffle, which half the money that is raised going to the winner, and half going to