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Official Government
Communication
Week of Apr. 14-20
Dear
Friend,
There is a
lot happening at the State Capitol and it is my hope that this email will
help you stay in touch with your government. As your Senator, I truly believe
in public service. If there is anything my office can do to assist you,
please feel free to contact us.
Here to
serve,
Sen. Lena
Taylor
4th
District
Possible
Changes to St. Joe's
 On Monday morning, I joined
Milwaukee legislators and the leadership team from Ascension Health to
discuss plans to downsize the Wheaton Franciscan - St. Joseph
Campus. I know many in the community have been concerned about
proposed changes in the services offered by the hospital. St. Joe’s
as the hospital is commonly called, has become what many call a “safety
net” hospital due to the large number of low income residents the
facility serves. While it can’t be ignored that St. Joe’s has lost
a reported $100 million in the last 6 years, the location’s emergency
room averages 75,000 patient visits per year has 50 to 60 medical and surgical inpatients
a day. Their initial proposal, among other services, would have stopped
surgical services, but continued operating the emergency department.
One
aspect of Ascension’s plan would have allowed agencies to use available
space at the hospital as a base to help address socio-economic
determinants of health, such as housing, education, safety and jobs, in
the surrounding community. One of the policy initiatives that I have
been working on in my office, LOVE & FAITH, is based on the creation
of hubs, similar to the concept explored by Ascension. People
should be able to go to one location, whenever possible, to get needs
addressed. As opposed to organizations working in silos, there is
an opportunity to bring all of the resources to a central location and
more effectively meet the needs of residents. As of now, Ascension has
halted their plans to alter services at the St. Joe’s campus. The
community must be engaged, as they work to retain key services and
facilities in this neighborhood. I look forward to
continuing the conversation and working towards a solution that meets the
needs of all impacted, as much as is feasible.
Fiscal
Irresponsibility Highlight Joint Committee on Finance Work
 On Wednesday, the Joint Finance
Committee met to vote on a number of state agency budget and project
requests. As a committee, we took up items to include the
University of Wisconsin plan to divide $26 million in outcome-based funding,
to reallocate a little over $7 million to the Department of Corrections
(DOC) because of budget shortfalls, and a number of other issues.
In terms of DOC, they cited higher than expected healthcare costs, aging
inmates, and nursing staffing shortages, as some the contributing factors
to their overdrafts. It is because of policies enacted by the state
to include mandatory minimum sentencing that we are seeing longer prison
terms, aging inmate populations, and increased corrections costs.
Of particular significance to me, was the vote
along party lines to approve the Walker administration's plan to address
$76.1 million in unsupported overdrafts. It is absolutely
frustrating to watch the continued lack of fiscal irresponsibility
exhibited in some of these decisions. Whether we were looking at updates
to information systems, or any of the other nine appropriations that were
all carrying negative balances, what was clear is that the Governor
actually had no plan to correct most of these deficiencies. Many of
these overdrafts have accumulated over several years, each year we are
told there is a “plan”, and yet the overdrafts continue. The Walker
administration found $120 million dollars to provide a child tax credit
ahead of November elections. Yet, we didn’t have the money to pay
our existing bills. We couldn’t run our household in this way and
it definitely is no way to run the state’s finances.
Exposing
the lead in the water town hall meeting
 I attended an emergency town hall
meeting, hosted by the Freshwater for Life Action Coalition (FLAC). FLAC
has conducted extensive research and met with Milwaukee government and
academic leaders in order to understand and grasp the complexities and
seriousness of lead service lines affecting over 70,000 homes and
businesses in Milwaukee. They have also done a lot to mobilize
residents to take an active interest and stake in ensuring access to safe
water for drinking and essential household functions.
We heard from Melissa Mays, one of the leading organizers who
responded to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Ms. Mays shared her
experiences dealing with the municipal, state, and even federal
government as she worked to secure the corrective actions needed to
ensure anyone who was harmed by water contamination got their due.
I have compared the lead lateral pipes in Milwaukee’s infrastructure to
the Flint water crisis in the past, and listening to the overt disregard
or slow response to insuring safe drinking water for Flint residents hits
close to home. We do have a health crisis in Milwaukee that remains
unresolved. It is also easy to react slowly to evidence that water is
unsafe when it looks and tastes the same as always. However, the levels
of lead found in Milwaukee’s children is unacceptable. I appreciated Ms.
May’s perspective and it reinforced my sense of urgency on this issue.
WV, OK, KY and Wisconsin Teacher Frustration
 Across the country, teachers,
parents, students and communities are putting school boards and legislators
on notice; you can’t keep taking them for granted. In Republican
dominated states like West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky, laws prevent
teachers unions from taking fees from members, and thus being able to
equip themselves with needed resources to effectively negotiate for
benefits and fair compensation packages. As a result, a rash of rallies,
protests and marches have taken place around the country. West
Virginia led the way with a 9-day walk-out in February that shut down
every public school in the state. Parents of over 270,000 kids
simultaneously supported the strikers.
As educators and supporters in Oklahoma are
entering their third week of protests, the demands are for both teachers
and the students they serve. The strikes are about wages, benefits,
“right to work laws”, union busting, but also demands for new textbooks
and additional courses. Wisconsin may not be far behind. Milwaukee
teachers showed up to a school board meeting last week to protest
potential budget cuts that would reduce health benefits for teachers. The
meetings went well into the night and got pretty contentious.
Teachers leading these movements around the nation aren’t union leaders
or life-long activists. They’re hard working people who have used
social media to organize and demand action from Republicans that have
increasingly taken their profession and contributions for granted. I
support their fight for respect, fair pay and benefits, and for the
resources needed to educate this country’s youth.
Kids in Crisis
 Mental health has long been an area
that I believe deserves more attention and resources. I was pleased
to learn that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and National Alliance on
Mental Illness (NAMI) have come together to organize a series of events
called Kids in Crisis. Each event is meant to help de-stigmatize the
mental health problems facing young people by giving them a platform to
share their experiences. Both those dealing with mental health issues and
people affected by their struggle, can speak to the affect it has on
their lives. I think the events are a great chance for the community to
uplift and connect with those who must struggle with a mental health
issue every day while also dealing with the rest of life’s
stresses.
According to NAMI, nearly 1 in 25 adults in the
U.S live with serious mental illness, and one half those adults show
symptoms of the illness by the age of 14. Suicide is the third leading
cause of death for people ages 10-24. We as the community around those
with a mental illness must show our support in any way we can. Studies
have shown that, in particular, African Americans and Hispanic Americans
use mental health service at about one half the rate of whites in the
year. This is a gap that should not exist for any demographic. I am
thankful that the Journal Sentinel and NAMI are providing these
opportunities to connect the community and those struggling with mental
illness, and I encourage everyone who can to attend an event.
Intern
Spotlight
 Sandy Balan
is a junior English Literature and Communication Arts double major at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. She came to Madison for her
undergraduate studies because she loves the atmosphere of the city, and
it isn’t so far away that she can’t get back home to the Chicagoland area
for some of Mom’s cooking. After she graduates, she plans on going to law
school so she can find a career in health or international law. Sandy
wanted to work in Senator Taylor’s office for the chance to do meaningful
work on justice and education reform. In addition to having the same
legislative priorities as Senator Taylor, she wanted to get a
behind-the-scenes look at how Senator Taylor goes about making change in
the Milwaukee community. Her biggest take away from that look is how much
work goes into running a legislative office, from the constant need to be
in touch with constituents in a variety of ways, to the unending research
and prep that goes into drafting legislation. Sandy said she is now
considering a career in politics after school. Drafting legislative
update stories and working with the staff in the office has been her
favorite part of her internship.
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