Remembering
Peg Lautenschlager
A Trailblazing Wisconsin
Progressive
Since last Saturday, people across Wisconsin have been mourning the loss
of Peg Lautenschlager to cancer. Peg led a remarkable life. She knocked
down barriers with determination, paved a path for others to follow, and
generously provided guidance and encouragement to others as they pursued
their own dreams.
In 1985, when it was still rare to have a woman serving as a district
attorney, Peg was appointed District Attorney of Winnebago County
and elected in 1986 – the first woman to hold that office. In 1988, she was
elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, defeating a 32-year incumbent.
Peg is the only Democrat to have been elected to represent the Fond du
Lac area in the State Assembly in the last 75 years.
In 1993, Peg was appointed by President Clinton to serve as the U.S.
Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin and served on the
Attorney General's Advisory Committee under U.S. Attorney General Janet
Reno. Peg was the first Wisconsinite ever to serve on the committee.
In 2002, Peg was elected to serve as Wisconsin's 42nd Attorney General.
In another first, she was the first woman elected to that position. She
created a Public Integrity Unit, was a leader on environmental issues,
and went after drug companies for reporting inflated drug prices. She
also issued an opinion that Wisconsin law prohibited the exclusion of
prescription contraceptives from benefit plans that provide prescription
drug coverage.
Throughout her life, Peg advocated for causes that were important to
her. She worked with the Service Employees International Union, fought
for public access to the Wisconsin State Capitol during the protests of
Act 10, and did pro bono legal work for young people in Fond du Lac. She
always had the time and energy to help others when they were down – even
when she herself was ill.
She will be missed.
Bill
Update: Two Authored Bills Signed into Law
This week Governor Walker signed into law Act 207 which updates
references in state statutes to reflect current population numbers and
prevent numerous laws designed specifically for Milwaukee County from
being applied to Dane County. In the next census, Dane County will
surpass 500,000 residents and would, without this change, be subject to
laws written for application only in Milwaukee County, where for almost
a century it has been the only county with a population greater than
500,000.
Act 207 updates over 200 references from 500,000 to 750,000, to ensure
that the status quo continues for the laws as they apply to Dane County
while making no changes to what in current law applies to Milwaukee
County. It makes no changes to current powers or duties of county and
local government in Wisconsin.
Also signed into law this week was Act 260, which establishes a foster
family support fund administered as a grant program with counties,
nonprofits and other organizations to support foster families. Last year
I served as a member of the Speaker’s Task Force on Foster Care. Act 260
was part of the task force’s Foster Forward package of bills to improve
Wisconsin’s foster care system.
Wisconsin foster families give so much of themselves to provide for the
children in their care, but even the most committed foster families can
face challenges in providing specialized care or finding the resources
to afford experiences like field trips and extra-curricular activities.
Act 260 creates a grant program for counties, non-profits, and tribes to
fund initiatives that support foster families as they strive to provide
normalcy for Wisconsin’s foster care population. These grants can be
used to assist efforts in retaining existing foster parents, expanding
education for foster parents, and reimbursements for expenses related to
providing normalcy for foster children like field trip costs, a band
uniform, or to cover fees and equipment to play football.
The grants will help attract and retain foster families whether it is by
assisting with extra training or giving families the ability to offer
foster children more opportunities. This legislation and the entire
Foster Forward package is a critical first step in improving the lives
of foster children and families.
Voters
to Republicans: Not So Fast
On Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly rejected changing the Wisconsin
Constitution to eliminate the Office of the State Treasurer.
While the Governor and Republican legislators advocated getting rid of
the position and argued that the duties of the office should be handled
by the Lieutenant Governor and agency staff, opponents of the change
spoke about the need to have a State Treasurer serving independently of
the Governor in order to have a person who could serve as a watchdog
over state financial matters and provide an additional check on the
power of the executive branch.
The duties of both the Secretary of State and the State Treasurer have
undergone significant changes and have been limited under Governors from
both parties in recent decades. However, the April 3 election
demonstrated that there is a clear mandate from voters to continue
having a State Treasurer who is focused on state finances and able to
raise red flags when Governors, and for that matter the Legislature,
pursue fiscal policies that are not sound over the long term. When
legislation related to the duties of the Treasurer is brought up in the
future, I will remember the mandate of voters and remind other
legislators as well.
Watch
Your Mailboxes for My 2018 Legislative Newsletter and Survey
My 2018 legislative newsletter will be hitting mailboxes in the next
week or so. Included in the newsletter is a survey on a wide range of
legislative issues on which I would like your feedback. I would
appreciate it if you would please complete the survey and mail it back
to my office.
The legislative survey is also now available online.
Click here if you would prefer to fill out the survey
electronically. Thank you in advance for taking the time to respond.
Wisconsin’s
Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week
Next week, April 9-13, is Wisconsin’s Tornado and Severe Weather
Awareness Week. Wisconsin Emergency Management, the National Weather
Service (NWS) and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) have once
again teamed up to sponsor the statewide tornado drills scheduled for
Thursday, April 12.
Schools, businesses, families, and individuals have two opportunities to
test their emergency plans during the April 12 statewide tornado drills.
The drills are part of the annual spring severe weather campaign to
encourage everyone in Wisconsin to be ready for possible tornadoes and
severe weather.
According to the NWS, Wisconsin averages 23 tornadoes annually. Last
year, there were 23 tornado touchdowns in the state. While most were
either EF0 or EF1, the state did record an EF3 on May 16, 2017. The
tornado followed an 83-mile path across Polk, Barron, Rusk, and Price
counties, killing one person and causing widespread damage. The state
also experienced an outbreak of 10 tornadoes on June 14, 2017, across
Shawano, Winnebago, Outagamie, Brown, and Waushara counties.
A mock tornado watch will be issued April 12 at 1 p.m., followed by a
statewide mock tornado warning at 1:45 p.m. Many radio and TV stations
across the state will issue the test tornado warnings. In addition, mock
alerts will be issued on NOAA Weather Radios and many communities will
sound their tornado sirens to test their emergency severe weather plans.
Later, a mock tornado warning will be issued at 6:45 p.m. to give
families and second-shift workers a chance to practice their emergency
plans.
The tornado drill will take place even if the sky is cloudy, dark or
rainy. If actual severe storms are expected in the state on Thursday,
April 12, the tornado drills will be postponed until Friday, April 13
with the same times. If severe storms are possible Friday, the drills
will be cancelled.
Any changes will be issued to local media as well as posted on the
ReadyWisconsin website.
Updates will also be posted on
Facebook,
Twitter, and
Instagram.
Scammers
Seeking Students Seeking Work
Goodbye, spring break...hello, summer! For college and high school
students statewide, the summer job hunt starts now, and the Wisconsin
Departments of Workforce Development (DWD) and Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection (DATCP) ask students to be on the lookout for
questionable job postings, particularly those featuring
too-good-to-be-true employment offers or those asking for upfront
payment for training or materials.
DWD operates JobCenterofWisconsin.com, the state's free online public
labor exchange that connects talent with opportunity and currently has
over 95,000 job postings. While DWD strives to validate the identity of
all employer representatives who post jobs directly on the site, users
are also advised to use caution if they opt to search external sites
from JobCenterofWisconsin.com.
JobCenterofWisconsin.com includes a list of cautions, including many
that are applicable to any online employment site. DWD and DATCP offer
the following tips to help students protect themselves when they seek
seasonal jobs:
-
It is not common or normal practice for an employer to ask for your
personal information, such as your Social Security number and bank
account number (or similar personal financial information) on an
initial application. Be wary and use good judgment if unusual
information is requested.
-
Be suspicious of any job offer that requires an upfront fee. Do not
provide credit card or bank account numbers and be careful of
requests for payment by wire transfer.
-
Any "job" that requires you to cash a check and send any amount of
it to another party is a scam.
-
Be cautious when dealing with any contacts outside of the United
States. It is difficult to pursue any enforcement action against a
person located outside of this country.
-
Research an organization before making any commitments. Ask for
information about the company, including its street address and the
name of its owner or chief operating officer. You may wish to call
DATCP's Consumer Protection Hotline (800-422-7128) to check on
complaints against the business.
-
Get the job offer in writing, including any earnings you are
expected to make.
-
If the interview request or job offer is for a job you did not apply
for, it is most likely a scam.
-
Scammers often send "spoofed" emails with forged email headers that
make the messages appear to have originated from someone or
somewhere other than the actual source. If the web address (URL)
referenced in the sender's email address does not match the true URL
for the business in question, the email may be a scam.
A common employment scam to watch out for begins with an email request
for a "Google Hangout" interview for a work-at-home position. The
scammer uses a legitimate company name and claims to have found the job
seeker's resume on an online employment site. After a job offer is made
during the "interview," the job seeker is sent a check or money order
for "office supplies and equipment," is instructed to deposit it into
their personal account, and is told to buy expensive equipment from a
particular vendor. Unfortunately, the check or money order are fake and
the job seeker will be on the hook for the full amount of money
withdrawn when the bank discovers the fraud.
Wisconsin
Fun Fact
The Wisconsin State Historical Society is a great resource to help you
research your family history. You can find your ancestors by searching
WHS’s Family History Resources. Online you can search over 3,000,000
records including: birth, death and marriage record indexes; newspaper
clippings; photographs and other visual materials; and property records
from National Register and State Register of Historic Places and the
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI).
Click
here to get to get started.