Chief Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who will retire when her term ends next month, says politicization and the record spending in recent state Supreme Court races is a danger to the future of the court.

“It’s dangerous to the court,” Walsh Bradley said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “It’s dangerous to our form of government. You know, one of the reasons we can exist as an institution is because we have the public trust and confidence of the people.”

Walsh Bradley, the longest-serving current member of the court and part of the court’s 4-3 liberal majority, criticized the record spending on the campaign trail in the most recent race between Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel.

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“There are initiatives that are being discussed in the Legislature now,” Walsh Bradley said. “I think there are public groups that are also discussing some alternatives. They don’t come easily. The United States Supreme Court has a case called Citizens United that equates speech with money, and so there are difficulties in regulating some of this, but that doesn’t mean that it’s an impossible challenge.

“Some initiatives would include things like taking a look at how justices are elected,” she added. “Should we stay with the kind of elections that we have now? Some states have a very different process than ours. You’re appointed by the governor or even the Legislature. Virginia, for instance, has a process where the Legislature appoints, so there are ways of looking at how justices are selected, the length of term. There has been a proposal in the past, one single term, 17 or 18 years.”

Walsh Bradley also weighed in on the growing number of threats targeting justices and judges across the state. The GOP-run Joint Finance Committee recently rejected a proposal from the court to create a new law enforcement agency with additional staff specifically for the courts.

“We take them very seriously because they are a serious threat,” Walsh Bradley said. “Judges should not be in a situation where they’re concerned for their personal safety when they are rendering decisions. And that equation, concern for our personal safety, is very much present in some cases. Judicial security is very important because it is part of what I call the independence of the judiciary. Judges shouldn’t be in a situation where they are intimidated or threatened because of their decisions, and yet that is part of the public dialogue right now.”

Walsh Bradley will have served 30 years on the court, ending her time as the court’s chief justice. She was celebrated at a recent public ceremony featuring Gov. Tony Evers and others.

“I don’t know if there’s a single most important case,” Walsh Bradley said. “I guess I leave that to the analysts and the legal scholars to decide, but for me personally, cases that involve securing individual rights, holding government accountable and cases and actions dealing with access to justice, making sure the courts of the state are accessible to people whom they serve.”

State Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, says he doesn’t know what it would take for him to vote yes on the Republican-crafted state budget after publicly voicing opposition to the plan.

“There are so many factors, it would be hard to get to a yes, probably most concerning back to the veto pen,” Kapenga told “UpFront.” “I’m not a no vote yet. I’m still waiting. We don’t have the budget finalized yet, but as I’ve said in my post, I’m very concerned at this point with all the items we’re exposed on.”

In a social media post on X, Kapenga pushed for lawmakers to reject passing a new budget and allow current funding levels to continue. Republicans in the state Senate can only lose one vote to pass the budget without any Dem support. The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, controlled by Republicans, has been working on a two-year spending plan but there are fears lawmakers won’t OK a budget by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

“I’m hearing from a lot of people saying where are you at? What’s going on?” Kapenga said. “So I wanted people to know, this is where I’m at.”

Kapenga is also pushing for more security at the State Capitol in the wake of the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses. He’s proposing metal detectors at the entrances and banning guns for any members of the public, but not lawmakers.

Currently, people can carry concealed firearms into the Capitol with certain exceptions, including the Wisconsin Supreme Court chambers, Capitol Police offices and the Senate gallery, Kapenga said.

“Indiana, for instances, is a great example,” he added. “It’s a great example that I bring up a lot. Indiana is extremely conservative and pro-personal protection. So what they allow is they allow legislators to carry into the building for protection, which I always do. I always have been armed to protect myself, especially when I’m up on the front at the president spot. That was, I just felt, was very important. But the general public, they don’t need to have their weapons in the people’s house. And the people’s house, it’s their representatives who are elected. That’s the voice of the people. And I need to be protected as a public servant, and so does everybody else who’s been elected into that spot.”

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration is hurting Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin.

“The president’s administration and their rhetoric on immigration has been very hurtful to folks in our community and very damaging as well,” Johnson told “UpFront” from the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Tampa, Florida.

“When you think about the economy in the state of Wisconsin — and Milwaukee is not an outlier to this — it’s a three-legged stool. It’s agriculture. It’s tourism and it’s manufacturing. And in each of those areas, immigration plays a huge role,” he said. “Who’s going to milk the cows? Who’s going to go on to the fields? Who’s going to work to make sure the hotels are clean? Who’s going to work? In the restaurants? Who’s going to work in the manufacturing places as well? Immigration touches every single aspect of our lives daily in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin.”

Johnson is one of nearly 200 mayors from across the country convening on issues related to economic development, the impact of tariffs and the ongoing trade war and public safety.

“Those issues are not unique to Milwaukee; they happen in cities all over the United States” Mayor Johnson said. “It was at a U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering in Kansas City, in the recent years where they were dealing with issues around street takeovers. I spoke to the mayor there and got some ideas to bring back to Milwaukee that we’re trying, that we’re working right now to execute. As it relates to street takeover issues, the Department of Public Works has done some modifications to the roadways to make it less possible for people to be able to engage in the street takeover activities. I think there’s legislation that we’re trying too, that we’re working to get through the Common Council now, that would allow us to be able to have some penalties for people who show up and are spectators at these events. These are quality of life issues,” he said.

See more from the show.

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