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Milwaukee Common Council approves zoning for new youth prison

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The Milwaukee Common Council voted Tuesday to approve rezoning for construction of a new youth prison in the city. The new facility, which would replace the troubled Lincoln Hills youth detention facility in central Wisconsin, would house the state’s most serious young offenders.

Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr said the new Milwaukee facility will keep youth from committing more crime, as well as keep them in the justice system. “One of the hopes of being able to move our youth closer to home is to be better able to engage the families in some sort of counseling and therapy,” Carr said.

The site chosen, a former Milwaukee emissions testing center, was selected by Governor Tony Evers’ administration last August.

 

School bus law violations increase in Marathon County

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The Sheriff’s Office in Marathon County says in a Facebook post there’s an increase in citations issued for motorists not obeying bus laws in the county. The department states in the post they’ve spoken with a few local bus companies which say roughly 20 violations occur in Marathon County each week.

The sheriff’s office estimates if that volume holds true for other bus companies across the county, “the number of violations each week would increase exponentially.”

The post adds a reminder that most school buses are equipped with cameras that help to capture license plate information of vehicles that commit violations.

Green Bay Equal Rights Commission addresses housing inequality

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The city of Green Bay is considering how to address inequality in housing. A report from the city’s Equal Rights Commission outlines short-and long-term recommendations. Jon Shelton, chair of the Commission, said those include a municipal housing ordinance that would require developers to develop a certain amount of affordable housing.

The commission held a public hearing on the report and recommendations on Martin Luther King Day. The Green Bay common council will review the findings of the report during its Februrary 9 meeting.

WTAQ

Beloit tabs Gabrielatos as next city manager

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The Beloit City Council has selected its next city manager from a pool of three finalists. Director of Strategic Communications Sarah Lock announced in a statement Monday Jerry Gabrielatos was chosen for the position.

Lock says Gabrielatos’ career in local government began by serving on the Chicago City Council, and he has over seven years of city management experience.

He also worked as Assistant City Manager and Interim City Manager in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and as City Manager in West Linn, Oregon.

Lock said during his time in city management, he led on issues related to economic and workforce development, diversity and inclusion and police reform, to name a few.

The council is expected to consider Gabrielatos’ contract at its meeting Tuesday night. He is expected to start no later than March 1.

WCLO

Vos named state legislatures conference president

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos was named Saturday as the 50th president of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Vos, who served as the organization’s president from 2019 to 2021, returned to the post after the previous president, Idaho Speaker Scott Bedke, stepped down to assume his new role as Idaho’s lieutenant governor.

Vos will remain as the conference’s president for the remainder of Bedke’s term, which ends this coming August.

Teen accused in fatal Green Bay crash wants case moved to juvenile court

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A 15-year-old girl charged in a fatal high-speed traffic crash in Green Bay has been ordered to stand trial in Brown County Court. Defense attorneys for Sienna Pecore are now asking that her case be moved to juvenile court before an arraignment is held.

Pecore is charged with first-degree reckless homicide, hit-and-run involving death and driving a vehicle without owner’s consent for the October 30 which killed a passenger, 17-year-old Cruz Beltron, Pecore was allegedly driving more than 100 mph at the time. According to the criminal complaint, she told police she had her mother’s car without permission.

In Wisconsin, defendants age 10 and older charged with certain homicide counts are prosecuted in adult court, such as in this case. Such requests are not automatically granted, and Pecore’s attorneys have the burden of proof for that motion.

Pecore’s attorneys were not ready to set a date for that hearing. A status conference will be held March 13.

Pecore’s attorneys had previously submitted a motion asking to have the charges dismissed, but Judge Zakowski dismissed that prior to Thursday’s  preliminary hearing.

WTAQ

Serious crime numbers down in Milwaukee

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Although homicides in Milwaukee were up by 11% in 2022, the city’s serious crime numbers were down last year. At a news conference Thursday, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and the city’s police chief, Jeffrey Norman, announced serious crime dropped by a combined 15% compared to 2021.

Addressing Milwaukee’s jump in homicides, Norman says more people are turning to guns for conflict resolution. Johnson says he wants to handle the homicide issue with stricter gun laws and by showing youth how to better resolve an issue.

Bill would eliminate taxes on residential electricity and natural gas

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State Senator Andre Jacque (R-De Pere) and Representative David Murphy (R-Greenville) have teamed up to introduce a new bill to eliminate the sales and use tax on residential electricity and natural gas. The lawmakers issued a joint statement on the bill, noting that “Wisconsin’s average residential energy rates are significantly higher than the Midwest and US averages.”

Under current law, electricity and natural gas sold between November and April for residential use is exempt from the sales and use tax. This bill exempts from the sales and use tax electricity and natural gas sold for residential use regardless of when it is sold.

Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.

WOMT

No criminal liability in Milwaukee County Jail death

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The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has found “no basis for criminal liability” in connection to a June death at the county jail. Fox 6 Milwaukee reported that the determination announced Wednesday is connected to the suicide death of 21-year-old Brieon Green in a cell at the jail.

Green was arrested on charges including disorderly conduct and felony bail jumping. Green’s family and their attorney say video showed a correctional officer passing by Green’s cell while Green took his own life on June 26th, 2022. The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case as well as the video, while the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office has opened their own internal investigation into the incident.

WEC commissioner draws scrutiny for email

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A member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission is facing scrutiny. The website Urban Milwaukee reported this week that WEC commissioner Bob Spindell, a Republican, bragged in an email sent to Republicans in the 4th Congressional District that 37,000 fewer votes were cast in the 2020 election than in 2018, with the major reduction happening in Black and Hispanic areas.

Spindell called that the result of a “well thought out multi-faceted plan.” In a comment posted to Twitter, fellow commissioner Mark Thomsen, a Democrat, said Spindell has shown he cannot be fair and should resign. Spindell was one of 10 false electors who met at the Capitol in Madison after Donald Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020.

Spindell said his comments sent in an email to about 1,700 people in December were not bragging about voter suppression. “The last thing I want to do is suppress votes,” he told the Associated Press. Spindell dismissed Thomsen’s call for his resignation.