The clouds have burst, the downpour has begun. The GOP’s campaign-ad deluge is coming to a screen near you.
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Posted inMoney & Politics Column
Sides bicker over who hates jobs more
It’s all over but the blaming. The state Legislature’s 2011-12 regular session has careened to a close, with both parties accusing the other of blocking progress on Wisconsin’s number-one issue: job creation.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Interested in helping us dig up the truth?
We’re seeking two UW-Madison journalism students for immediate involvement in a project examining state government issues.
Posted inGovernment
Wisconsin receives C- for government accountability
Wisconsin receives a C- in a nationwide ranking of states’ accountability and risk of corruption. The State Integrity Investigation, released today, ranks Wisconsin 22nd, with a score of 70 percent — a score boosted by the creation in 2008 of the state Government Accountability Board to help clean up government.
Posted inGovernment
2009-2011 Ethics, lobbying and campaign finance violators
A previously unpublished list of forfeitures paid to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board from 2009 to 2011 for campaign finance, ethics and lobbying violations.
Posted inGovernment
GAB dings ethics, campaign finance violators
More than one hundred people or groups paid fines for violating Wisconsin’s campaign finance and ethics laws in the past three years. The violator list reads like a Who’s Who of Wisconsin politicians, and includes some noteworthy outsiders as well.
Posted inGovernment, Money & Politics
Capitol chaos shines spotlight on secretive state institutions
The backdrop for many of Wisconsin’s current ethical controversies is an unprecedented flow of money into the state’s political machinery. With last year’s Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, some loopholes in the state’s campaign finance laws have grown even wider.
Posted inJustice & Safety, WisWatch Blog
Judicial commission accuses Prosser of ethics violations, he declares innocence
The Wisconsin Judicial Commission today filed a complaint against state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser over an incident last June in which he placed his hands around the neck of a fellow justice. It asked that “appropriate discipline be imposed.” But Prosser declared his innocence.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
MapLight unveils new tool with Wisconsin capabilities
MapLight, a national nonpartisan research organization that explores the connections between money and politics, has unveiled a new feature that allows for the tracking on bills by topic area, for the U.S. Congress as well as two state legislatures, Wisconsin and California.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column
Mining bill shows might isn’t everything
An astonishing example of how lobby clout doesn’t always decide legislative outcomes is the state Assembly’s mining bill, which recently failed to pass the state Senate despite its broad base of support.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Ain’t nobody’s business but their own?
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court justices are sharply split — not just on when they should not take part in a given case, but even over whether the court has the authority to make such calls.
Posted inGovernment
Roggensack decided case involving her own lawyer
In late 2006, a Grant County jury ordered Daniel Virnich and Jack Moores to pay a $6.5 million judgment, the largest in Wisconsin that year. The lawsuit brought by receiver Michael Polsky had accused the two men of plundering a stereo components company, through excessive payments to themselves. The company had gone belly up, leaving its creditors — including numerous small businesses — with major losses.