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Official Government
Communication
Dear Friend,
Welcome to my email
newsletter. 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
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Hope for unemployed felons
 A budget is a ranking of priorities. And with the last day
of the State Senate session fast approaching on March 15th, we
need to get our priorities straight. Over the next two years, we will spend
more than $2.2 billion in taxpayer dollars to fund the DOC. That’s more than we
will spend on the entire UW System. Don’t you think it’s wrong that we put
incarcerating our people ahead of educating our college students? What makes
it worse is that with Wisconsin leading the nation in the incarceration of
black men, we aren’t putting enough taxpayer dollars into re-entry programs
to reduce re-offence. A person is 3 times more likely to end up back behind
bars if they can’t hold a job for one year. That’s why we have to address
employment. A new bill I authored with Republican Senator Alberta Darling and
Democratic Senator Nikiya Harris Dodd will create a certificate for qualified
employment for prisoners upon reentry. The certificate will vouch for the
person’s work ethic that they displayed while in prison. This bill has
already passed in the Assembly and the Senate Judiciary Committee. I hope the
Senate will pass the bill when we meet on March 15th.
Litscher confirmed as DOC Secretary
 You know me. I believe in giving people
another chance. There’s perhaps no better example of this than with
corrections. When someone does something wrong and they pay their debt to
society, we should make sure they have a chance to turn their life around.
But second chances aren’t just for prisoners. I’ll admit that when Governor
Scott Walker appointed former DOC Secretary Jon Litscher to his old job, I
was skeptical. With all that’s going on at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake with
the treatment of juvenile offenders and treatment of staff up there,
something has got to change. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve met with
Secretary Litscher for hours and even grilled him when he was in the hot seat
in front of the public at the Judiciary Committee hearing. So far, I’ve found
him to be transparent and he answered the tough questions. I feel what he
says about needing to focus on fixing the mess in juvenile corrections and
working on rehabilitation for all Wisconsin prisoners. I like that he is
willing to work to provide more community-based visits from Milwaukee to
Lincoln Hills. I’m gonna be candid with you, he and I won’t agree on
everything. But, at the end of the day, I think he’s someone we can work
with. I think I was tough, but fair during his appointment process and I’ll
continue to hold Secretary Litscher and the rest of the Walker administration
accountable to the people.
Moving nowhere, Wisconsin job growth
stalls yet again
 Wisconsin job growth ranked in the bottom half of the nation
last year according to an employment report released this week. This trend is
nothing new. Since July of 2011, Wisconsin continues to trail the nation in
job creation. Not only have we stalled employment growth, the Philadelphia
Federal Reserve predicts Wisconsin to have essentially zero economic growth
for the upcoming six months. It seems like zero is something Wisconsin
families should have come to expect under Governor Walker’s leadership.
Instead of pushing an anti-worker agenda which suppresses wages and
dismantles protections, let’s try something new. Zero is a number that
Wisconsin can no longer afford.
Bringing our babies back to
Milwaukee
 Lincoln Hills has been in the
spotlight for quite some time now and while progress is being made, it could
be argued it isn't happening fast enough. Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake
have been under an ongoing investigation into allegations of abuse, neglect, sexual assault and excessive
use of force since the end of 2015. On February 4, the County Board declared
a "state of emergency" and agreed to remove all county
teenagers from Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake. The obstacles restricting this
process have been seemingly endless. While the number of juvenile inmates has
been reduced from 170 to 140, Circuit Court Chief Judge Maxine White says
county court and human services were not notified whether these juveniles
were just released onto the street or if they will be under "aftercare
supervision." On the other hand, eight juvenile correctional officers
have been hired at a 24 bed unit expansion in Wauwatosa. The county is
also seeking approval to add an additional 44 beds by renovating a vacated
space in Wauwatosa. These renovations will cost $750,000 and could be done by
December. I hope that they will begin straightening out these confusions
immediately, because our babies cannot wait much longer in these challenged
conditions.
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Community Events:
Know Your Rights! On Saturday March 19th from 10am-1pm come to
Greater New Birth Church (8237 W. Silver Spring Drive) to learn about your
legal rights surrounding license recovery, expungements, and voter ID
information. Additionally there will be an Election Commission Representative
to answer questions, voter booths and ballots to simulate voting, and a
resource table and video.
50th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade: 100+ unit parade with marching bands, pipe and drum corps
and local personalities. Saturday March 12th at 12:00pm. Further information here.
United States Air Force Band of Mid-America: The talents of 46 unit members will be displayed in a
concert at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts on March 16th at 7pm.
Free and open to the public. More information here.
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