Sam Schulz

---

Bill would make juvenile correctional officers report child abuse

The state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would make correctional officers in juvenile prisons mandatory reporters for child abuse and neglect. The legislation was prompted by a lengthy investigation into allegations of systemic problems at the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools, youth prisons for boys and girls, respectively, run by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Milwaukee charter schools performed better than public schools on ACT, report shows

A report published Wednesday by the libertarian Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty found that charter schools in the Milwaukee area outperformed their public counterparts. The study specifically compared 2016 ACT and Forward Exam – the successor to the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam – scores and controlled for different factors in student populations such as poverty levels, race and number of non-native English speakers. “This matters for parents. It’s not about building one sector up or tearing another down,” said the author of the report, Will Flanders.

Activists, constituents hold 'empty chair town hall' for Sen. Ron Johnson

Roughly 500 constituents gathered at what was termed an “empty chair town hall” for Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., at the First Congregational Church in Madison Wednesday night.

Baldwin calls for independent investigation of Michael Flynn’s correspondence with Russia

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., joined a group of 10 senators on Wednesday calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to launch a special investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn resigned Monday amid allegations of possible illegal phone calls between himself and officials in the Russian government that he had earlier denied.

GOP legislators hire law firms to represent them in redistricting appeal

Behind closed doors, Republican legislators plan to vote Thursday to hire two law firms that will aid the state government’s appeal to a recent federal ruling that said current GOP-drawn legislative districts are unconstitutional.

Trump’s freeze on EPA grants and contracts could affect UW-Madison research

A recent freeze on contracts and grants awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency could potentially affect millions of research dollars at UW-Madison. The Trump administration instituted the freeze Tuesday, though the EPA has not issued any formal notices to the university about the status of existing or pending grants.

UW researchers show FAFSA rates for Wisconsin students

A new policy brief released Wednesday from a UW-Madison research center shows relatively high rates of students submitting the FAFSA to obtain federal student aid. Authored by UW–Madison associate professor Nicholas Hillman and two Ph.D.

College Democrats, Republicans square off on taxes, national security

Representatives from the College Democrats and College Republicans met ahead of the election Tuesday for a policy discussion forum, debating topics ranging from education to national security. The forum was moderated by UW-Madison political science professors Howard Schweber and Kenneth Mayer and touched on several important issues including national security and the Middle East, education, and the economy and taxes.

City issues record number of absentee ballots

The number of absentee ballots cast and issued in Madison has already broken records with more than two weeks of early voting availability still left. The City of Madison clerk had issued 35,497 absentee ballots as of Tuesday, with 31,421 of those already counted.

Clinton’s lead rises to seven points in new Marquette Poll

The latest Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday shows Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump has grown to seven points. Among likely Wisconsin voters, 44 percent support Clinton while 37 percent Trump, with Libertarian Gary Johnson supported by three percent and the Green Party’s Jill Stein at three percent.

Community activists and organizations held a Madison town hall for Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., since he did not schedule one himself during the congressional recess. Johnson was invited to the event but he did not attend.