May 22, 2012

Barrett wants answers on John Doe probe

With almost two weeks to go until a recall election, Democrats are focusing their attention on an investigation with possible ties to Governor Scott Walker.

The John Doe probe in Milwaukee County has resulted in charges against multiple people, including two of Walker’s former aides from his time as county executive being accused of doing campaign work on county time. The governor has not been charged and says he is not the target of the investigation, but he has set up a legal defense fund.

Democratic recall challenger Tom Barrett says voters deserve to know why that fund was established and what Walker’s role in the scandal might have been. Barrett on Monday also called for the governor to release emails turned over to prosecutors regarding an alleged secret email system in the county executive’s office.

Walker says Barrett’s questions are nothing more than a “desperate attempt by a desperate campaign” to try to talk about anything else besides the facts. The governor says his critics have been proven wrong when they attacked him on the economy and jobs, so now they are trying to distract voters with another topic.

Governor Walker says he’s not worried about any impact the probe or Barrett’s calls for more details will have on the upcoming recall election. The two candidates face each other in a June 5th recall election.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:05)

Report: Special interests are ‘well fed’

A government watchdog group calls 55 state budget items and bills signed into law last session a “special interest smorgasbord.” A report from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign says these changes, such as tax credits for industries, cost taxpayers $334.5 million or $235 for a family of four, in 2012-2013.

“When people are being asked to expect less, these interest groups are being given more,” says Executive Director Mike McCabe. Other provisions listed included changes to regulatory policy and protections, “benefits that can’t be determined.”

McCabe suggests a play-for-pay situation saying many large campaign donors were rewarded by these changes.

Finding work for the disabled

There’s a growing push to help people with disabilities join the workforce in Wisconsin, and a conference this week in Wisconsin Dells will focus on how to make it happen.

Despite a strong desire to work and support themselves, Beth Swedeen with the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities says many of those individuals are unable to find a job. She says only about 10 percent of the state’s disabled population is currently employed in a job that pays competitive wages.

Swedeen says there are many reasons why the job market is not accessible to the disabled. Perhaps the biggest, she believes, is that employers often have low expectations or underestimate the ability of those individuals to contribute.

Swedeen says there needs to be an expanded network of providers that understand integrated employment and that have the ability to sell the strengths of those looking for work. She says disabled students also need to be given access early on to resources in school that will help them find employment.

A coalition of disability rights advocates are meeting in Wisconsin Dells Tuesday for a summit focused on trying to double the number of integrated employees in the state’s workforce by 2014.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:16)

Cops warn motorists: click it or ticket

More law enforcement officers are on patrol for the Click it or Ticket campaign.

The national campaign is not just busy work with a catchy name; officials want everyone to know that wearing a seatbelt could potentially save lives.

State Patrol Major Sandra Huxtable, Wisconsin Department of Transportation – Bureau of Transportation Safety, says the state already has recorded more traffic deaths this year compared with the same time last year. “People are making mistakes or taking risks and then in some cases it’s them getting killed or in other cases they’re killing an innocent third party.” She says many of those deaths could have been prevented by fastening their safety belt. “It takes less than a second to click that seatbelt and keep them safe.”

Huxtable says parents can help encourage good habits in youngsters by their own responsible actions.

During this intensified safety belt enforcement, Huxtable reminds motorists that the seatbelt law in Wisconsin is a primary enforcement law. Officers will pull over unbelted motorists and issue citations; there’s no need to stop motorists for a separate traffic violation. “In a quick glance we can determine that they are in a violation of the traffic law and we can stop them and take the appropriate enforcement action.”

Safety belt use is the most effective way to prevent ejection during a crash or thrown around violently inside the vehicle. Last year, there were nearly 85,000 safety belt convictions in the Badger State. The cost for violators is $10, with no demerit points or penalty assessment.

The annual Click it or ticket campaign begins Monday and continues through June 3. Nearly 400 law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin will have more officers patrolling for longer hours — day and night — to crackdown on unbuckled drivers and passengers.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:42

Walker thinks mining bill still possible

Governor Scott Walker is holding out hope that a deal can still be reached this year on mining legislation.

Passage of the controversial bill overhauling the approval process for mining projects in the state was derailed at the end of the last Legislative session. Governor Walker believes that was largely due to politics, because Democrats were unwilling to give him a victory on a major jobs bill with a recall election looming in the future.

The bill would have made it easier for Gogebic Taconite to open an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin. The project was expected to bring up to 700 jobs in an area much in need of economic development.

The bill was blocked in the state Senate when Republican Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) sided with Democrats to stop a vote. Walker believes that dynamic could change after the recall, and some Democrats may move to support mining legislation. Walker says the “tremendous pressure on 14 state Senate Democrats” will not be there after the June 5th recall.

Walker believes discussions could start up again before the end of the year, although he says there are no specific plans right now. He says “we’ll see how things play out in the future.”

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (:57)