Capitol Chats: Assembly Corrections Committee Chair Schraa on high vacancy rates, aging prisons

In this week’s Capitol Chats podcast, Assembly Corrections Committee Chair Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh, talks about some of the most pressing issues facing the Wisconsin’s prisons. He talks about what it will take to continue driving security staff vacancy rates down and how likely it is a longterm push to replace maximum security prisons from the 19th century in Waupun and Green Bay with one newer facility. He also briefly touches on what’s to come from his committee.

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Rock County Clerk Tollefson talks about latest election bills’ impact on clerks, 2024 elections

In this week’s Capitol Chats episode, Rock County Clerk Lisa Tollefson, co-chair of the Wisconsin County Clerks Association’s Legislative Committee, says a bill to allow absentee ballot processing before election night will absolutely help clerks do their jobs. But she says she’s not sure if clerk protections the Assembly recently passed will do enough to deter harassment that has driven many election workers away since the 2020 election.

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Redistricting expert John Johnson talks future of legislative redistricting

This week’s Capitol Chats podcast features an interview with redistricting expert John Johnson. The Marquette University Law School Lubar Center research fellow says the state Supreme Court could take a few different paths to tackling how to redraw the state’s legislative boundaries if it rules against the current maps. He said if the court draws new districts, he would expect to see “a map that bears no relation to what we currently have.”

Read More »

Capitol Chats: Assembly Corrections Committee Chair Schraa on high vacancy rates, aging prisons

In this week’s Capitol Chats podcast, Assembly Corrections Committee Chair Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh, talks about some of the most pressing issues facing the Wisconsin’s prisons. He talks about what it will take to continue driving security staff vacancy rates down and how likely it is a longterm push to replace maximum security prisons from the 19th century in Waupun and Green Bay with one newer facility. He also briefly touches on what’s to come from his committee.

Read More »

Rock County Clerk Tollefson talks about latest election bills’ impact on clerks, 2024 elections

In this week’s Capitol Chats episode, Rock County Clerk Lisa Tollefson, co-chair of the Wisconsin County Clerks Association’s Legislative Committee, says a bill to allow absentee ballot processing before election night will absolutely help clerks do their jobs. But she says she’s not sure if clerk protections the Assembly recently passed will do enough to deter harassment that has driven many election workers away since the 2020 election.

Read More »

Redistricting expert John Johnson talks future of legislative redistricting

This week’s Capitol Chats podcast features an interview with redistricting expert John Johnson. The Marquette University Law School Lubar Center research fellow says the state Supreme Court could take a few different paths to tackling how to redraw the state’s legislative boundaries if it rules against the current maps. He said if the court draws new districts, he would expect to see “a map that bears no relation to what we currently have.”

Read More »