The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.
>> A low turnout spring primary advances to four finalists vying
to be the state's top educator and Evers budget release begins
the months long process of appropriations and priorities.
I'm Frederica Freyberg tonight on "Here& Now". The governor
released a massive executive budget. What will stand and what
will fall? The spring primary election is out of the way.
State Superintendent and Supreme Court races pick up speed and
new maps and a new session underway. Bring new blood and
energy to both chambers. It's "Here& Now" for February 21st.
[MUSIC] >> Funding for here and Now is
provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS
Wisconsin. >> Governor Tony Evers went on a
statewide swing after presenting his 20 2527 executive budget
this week, emphasizing increased education, spending and tax
relief. >> Wisconsinites wouldn't have
taxes to keep school lights on and doors open. If this
legislature invested in K through 12 education from the
get go in the budget, I'm announcing tonight proves we can
both make the investments in our kids that we need to and hold
the line on preventing property taxes from going up. My plan
will provide nearly $2 billion in tax relief through efforts to
lower property taxes, eliminate the sales tax on several
everyday expenses, and cut income taxes for middle class
Wisconsinites, including homeowners, renters, veterans
and seniors. >> Top lines of the governor's
proposal. It's a $119 billion, two year budget that would
increase spending by more than 20%. It calls for $3.15 billion
for K-12 education, 856 million for the University of Wisconsin,
and 60 million for technical colleges. It also calls for
nearly $2 billion in tax relief and for raising taxes on high
income earners. Republicans once again consider all of it a
nonstarter. >> We confirmed what we
suspected last night of it was kind of the same thing with
reckless spending and tax increases. And, you know, a
liberal wish list that was going to be in there. But we were a
little bit surprised that it's actually that on steroids. It's
even bigger than last time. The numbers were a little shocking
budget that starts a little bit below $100 billion over the two
years and pushed that to almost $119 billion. It's a pretty
serious escalating. You're looking at 1300 new positions,
just the growth of government. Again, we knew he would grow
government. But when you actually see the level of the
And I. >> Wisconsin comes into the
budget season with a $4.3 billion surplus. But as
expected, the Republican majority legislature calls the
Evers plan dead on arrival. Republican budget writers say
they will start from scratch. We're joined by Jason Stein of
the Wisconsin Policy Forum for his take. And thanks for being
here, Jason. >> Thank you. So it sure seems
like a lot of work and a lot of number crunching on the part of
the governor and his administration to end up with a
budget that's D.O.A. Is it more like a potential reelection
vision statement on the governor's part?
>> Potentially, yes. I mean, it's certainly a vision
statement. Right. And you do feel a little bit for the
analysts and budget writers who work, you know, painstakingly to
put all this stuff together. And then it's right into the trash
heap in some sense. But there may be some areas where they can
work together. I mean, the governor had an increase in tax
credits for buying down local property taxes. He had a tips
taking off income taxes for tips. So there are some areas
where Republicans have worked in those same vein in the past. So
there may be some areas where they can have a meeting of the
minds. But clearly on many things in this budget, there
will not be. >> In fact, I was going to just
ask of all of the spending in it. Could the only agreement
really come with tax cuts? >> Well, that's where the real
rub is going to be. Or the back and forth with the governor. I
mean, the governor's proposal would decrease some taxes, but
raise a number of others, and on net would increase taxes by more
than $2 billion. Now, obviously, given that the state has a $4
billion surplus, that's a nonstarter for Republicans. They
will be looking at large income tax cuts, which last time the
governor vetoed. I think the thing that will probably keep
both sides working with one another is with no budget
passing, there would be upward pressure on property taxes
around the state, particularly school property taxes, because
of provisions that are in current law. So I think both
sides are going to really feel some pressure to get a deal,
because they don't really want to see that happen. With K-12
test scores, really. Sadly sagging. I trust pouring more
than $3 billion into that part of the education budget and
freezing school choice slots is not the majority's idea of an
answer. >> I mean, clearly they're very
far apart from one another. On the issue of both income taxes
and education. You know, the one being the Republican priority,
the other being the governor's priority. I think, again, where
you have some impetus to get that increase is in the governor
in his veto last year, put for 400 years, he stuck in with his
partial veto. This steady increase in the limits, the
state limits that govern how much school districts can spend.
And so they're going to get like a two and a half or 3% bump in
that spending limit. Revenue limit every year. And so if
there's no budget, there's no state aid to kind of take up the
slack there and keep property taxes from going up. And I think
that's something that Republicans have in the back of
their heads and will be a reason for them not to walk away from
the negotiating table. >> Where else might the sides
potentially come together? What about Evers prison plan that
would eventually close? Green Bay Correctional? Do Republicans
take parts of that and kind of call it their own and rework it?
>> Great question. I mean, I think there's something
fundamentally there that must be dealt with. I mean, we have two
prisons that go back to the 19th century. Waupan and green Bay
Correctional. The governor wants to close green Bay Correctional.
He has a very creative way to do that. I mean, it's kind of like
a flea flicker play in football where you're you're passing the
ball from one player to another and they're throwing down field.
It's a touchdown. If you get that and you connect on that
play. But it also has a lot of ways it can break down. I
suspect the Republicans will probably not take that plan in
its entirety, but some elements of it, they may do.
>> Also, Evers proposes what's described as an historic
investment in the university. $856 million over two years.
Given what's happening around the state with closures and
layoffs and that kind of thing at the at the colleges, does
that resonate? >> It's a great question. I
mean, the issue of higher education has become very
politicized, much more than it was, let's say, two decades ago.
And so, you see, actually, at the federal level, some dispute
right over whether to decrease the amount of research grant
funding that goes out to universities like UW-Madison or
the Medical College of Wisconsin, or even UW Milwaukee,
whether or not there there may be some increase on the
possibility, because in many cases, the UW campuses that
would be hurt the most would be in more Republican areas, or at
least in purple areas of the state. So that one, I think, is
to BD. >> It seemed of note to me that
Evers was using his budget to try to guard against impacts
from President Trump's actions out of Washington, saving out
what was it, nearly $500 million of kind of in case money, right?
>> I mean, the governor's leaving enough reserves to cover
about 10% of state spending. I mean, that's historically a
pretty good number. At the same time, it would not be enough in
the event of a really severe recession. So I think there will
be some back and forth with the legislature. Again, the governor
would pull down roughly $3.5 billion of the surplus. But, you
know, Republicans did the same thing two years ago with their
income tax proposal. And the governor just partially vetoed
it. So I think part of the question is, do the two sides
working at cross-purposes get us to a sustainable budget, which
is what has happened in recent cycles, or an unsustainable
budget, which is more what happened in the 2000 when you
and I were starting at the state Capitol.
Stein, thanks very much. Thanks for joining us and your
expertise. >> Thank you.
>> This year's election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme
Court is shaping up to be one of the most expensive ever.
Fundraising totals released by the campaigns of Liberal
candidate Susan Crawford and Conservative candidate Brad
Schimel show they are on pace to exceed the $50 million price tag
from 2023, which was the most expensive state Supreme Court
race in American history. Here and now, senior political
reporter Zach Schultz has more on how all this money will
impact the cases. The winner will hear once they are on the
court. >> Arthouse Preschool. And with
Susan Crawford on the bench, your street could be next.
[MUSIC] >> Brad Schimel is too extreme
for the Supreme Court. >> Just five weeks from Election
Day, the Schimel and Crawford campaigns are filling the
airwaves and social media with millions of dollars in campaign
ads. In 2023, the race between Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel
Kelly was the most expensive state Supreme Court race in U.S.
History, with candidates and third party groups spending more
than $50 million. It was for an open seat, and the winner would
determine the ideological control of the court. It's the
same setup in 2025, so it should come as no surprise. We're on
pace to break spending records. >> It's like inflation. It never
goes down. It always only seems to go up and I suspect this race
is going to have even more money spent than in 2023. You know,
you can only run so many TV ads before you've made your point.
But this is what you've got to do. I've got to be competitive.
The other side has got to be competitive. We're both working
to have the resources we need to get our message out.
>> The maximum an individual can donate to a campaign is $20,000.
But years ago, Republicans rewrote campaign laws so
individuals could give an unlimited amount to state
parties, which can in turn give unlimited amounts to campaigns.
In the latest fundraising totals, billionaire donors gave
millions to the Republican and Democratic parties. The
Republican Party of Wisconsin transferred $1.7 million to
Schimel campaign, while the Democratic Party of Wisconsin
transferred 3 million to Crawford's campaign. In 2023,
Janet Protasiewicz received a lot of direct transfers from the
Democratic Party of Wisconsin to help fund her campaign, and in
turn, she said that she would recuse herself from any cases
that involved the Democratic Party of Wisconsin as a party.
Would you do the same if you receive a large, direct
contributions from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin?
>> You know, I what I would do is if a case came before the
Supreme Court in which the Democratic Party was a party is
to look at what the facts were in that case, who the other
parties were and what the legal issues were that at stake, and
then make a decision about recusal based on the specific
instances of that case. I think, you know, I'm a I'm a pretty
cautious person as a judge. And I, I don't prejudge matters like
that and would wait to see what what that case brought and
whether I could be fair and impartial. And if, if it was a
situation where I believed I could not be fair and impartial
due to past political support, financing support from the
Democratic Party, I would certainly recuse.
>> How will you approach recusal when it comes to those who have
supported you, donated to you, endorsed you?
>> Well, it's awfully hard for justice. Protasiewicz to say.
She'll recuse on anything that the Democratic Party is involved
in. But then she stayed on the legislative redistricting maps,
and she came. Well, they're not directly a party. Come on. They
were the clear beneficiary of that decision. I think she was
putting form over substance very much there. But for a judicial
official at any level, your responsibility is if you have a
personal stake, you or some family member has a personal
stake in the outcome of this case, you must recuse. That's
unethical not to do so. Otherwise, just like a juror,
when they're asked questions in the jury box, can you to find
out whether they can be on this case and be fair and impartial?
The judge needs to search their soul and determine, can you
decide this case without having any political baggage, without
having your personal history or biases interfere with your
ability to be fair and impartial? If you cannot do
that, then you should recuse. Legislature.
>> One of the biggest cases the winner could see is a challenge
to act ten. The Scott Walker era law that eliminated most
collective bargaining rights for most public employees. Just
recently, Justice Protasiewicz announced she would not recuse
herself from the act ten challenge, currently heading to
the appellate courts, saying her opposition to the law as a
private citizen would not impact her ability to rule as a
justice. >> However, Conservative Justice
Brian Hagedorn announced he would recuse himself from
hearing that case because while serving as then governor,
Walker's chief legal counsel, Hagedorn helped write that law
and later defended it in court. Crawford served in that exact
same position for Governor Jim Doyle, so she understands
Hagedorn's role. >> So for him, having taken a
position already on that exact provision and trying to defend
it in court, I think he made the right decision to recuse
himself. And, you know, if I had been in exactly that situation
as Justice Hagedorn is, I think I would have made the same
decision. general from 2015 to 2019.
>> Act ten was resolved in the US Supreme Court and the Seventh
Circuit Court of Appeals. Even before I was attorney general, I
was still in the DA's office when those issues were decided
by those courts. So I've never had any direct role in anything
involving act ten. What I do ask voters is to ask themselves
whether they think that if my opponent wins, can this court
truly be objective? When two justices sitting on the court,
both Justice Protasiewicz and Justice Dallet, were both caught
on video promising if elected they would strike down act ten
and then my opponent represented the Madison Teachers Association
in the lawsuit to strike down act ten, and she argued that it
should be found unconstitutional. Can she be
objective? When she had a former client that that had her do that
work for her? And can those other two be objective based on
those promises? I can ask those questions. I'm not going to tell
anybody how I'm going to rule, because like I do in every case,
I will read the briefs, I will assess the facts, I will look at
the relevant law. I'll read all the cases, and then I'll assess
what the right answer is based on the law.
>> In private practice. You also were a part of an act ten
lawsuit. Would that prevent you from sitting on any cases
regarding act ten in the future? >> You know, if a case came up,
whether it's on act ten or anything else, that any other
topic that I had some role in, in, in challenging while I was a
lawyer, I would give it a very close look to see what the facts
were that were presented in that new case, who the parties were,
and what kind of legal issues are being raised, and make a
determination about whether I could be fair and impartial.
Sitting on that case. That's what the law requires us to do,
and that's what I do in every case.
Zach Schultz for "Here& Now". >> In the spring primary race,
the only statewide race. And in some districts, the only race
was between three candidates for state superintendent of schools.
Incumbent Jill Underly faced off with challengers Jeff Wright, a
Liberal candidate and district superintendent in Sauk Prairie,
and Brittany Kinser, a conservative candidate and
education consultant who does not hold a teaching license.
Kinser and Underly edged out opponent Wright by roughly 33
and 49,000 votes, respectively, and will advance to April's
general election. Back at the Capitol Assembly, Republicans
passed a package of education bills. The legislation would
realign statewide testing standards back to national
levels, ban the use of cell phones by students during class
time, require cursive instruction and a specific
civics instruction. Instructional materials must be
made available for inspection by district residents, and 70% of
operating expenses must go toward direct classroom costs
and teacher salaries, and limit pay increases for school
administrators. Republicans say the bills are necessary to
improve achievement levels. >> Since 2011, 2012, we have
actually seen with demographic changes, about a 6.5% decline in
the total number of students attending school in Wisconsin.
But we have actually seen a 39% increase in spending during that
same time. So the challenge that we have is we now know that just
simply increasing education funding doesn't necessarily mean
we have higher standards. It doesn't mean that we have better
outcomes. Our test results and our test scores clearly show
that. So what we want to make sure is that at a time when only
31% of the students who are taking the fourth grade test are
reading at grade level, we want to make sure that that actually
gets better than where it is now. In fact, right now, that
test score is the lowest that it's been since 1992. Where
before many kids, actually many people were even born. So the
results that we have are disappointing. They are really
frustrating, but they are also a wake up call for Wisconsin.
>> Newly elected legislators are finding their way at the state
capitol. More than a quarter of the members in the Assembly and
Senate are freshmen. After legislative districts were
redrawn last year. There are 23 new Democratic lawmakers in the
Assembly and eight new Republicans. Here and now,
reporter Aditi Debnath met with two new state reps. Now a month
in to the legislative session. >> I full disclosure and
completely overwhelmed. >> We sat down and I said, let's
do this. And we went 100 miles an hour from there.
>> Representatives Lindee Brill and Angelina Cruz are newbies in
the Wisconsin Assembly. >> It's a new job. It's a new
environment. It's a big buildin. So even getting my directions
down has been a challenge. But I'm excited for the challenge.
>> They spent the first few days after inauguration getting their
bearings in the Capitol ahead of the first session.
>> I keep describing it as like speed dating with different
governmental departments. Like you get like the quick overview
and then they're like, here's our card. You can reach out at
any time, and then you move on to the next one.
>> As they begin budget season, Brill and Cruz represent the
changing face of Wisconsin politics, bringing fresh
perspectives to the state legislature. Representative
Brill is one of eight Republican rookies in the Assembly,
representing the 27th district. >> The easiest way to describe
it would be if you take Sheboygan. So Ana Wilson City of
Sheboygan, then Town of Sheboygan. I'm pretty much
everything around it, all the way west to Fond du Lac and
down. So to Cheatle would be the edge of my district, all the way
down to like Cascade and then over to I-43.
>> On the other side of the aisle. Representative Angelina
Cruz is one of 23 New Democrats in the Assembly representing
district 62. >> The vast bulk of it is the
city of Racine. It stretches. >> To the north is it's Racine
and. North Bay, and it stretches up to Wind Point. And then it
covers a sliver of Caledonia and a sliver of Mount Pleasant.
>> While both Brill and Cruz are first time lawmakers, they
represent opposite ends of the partizan spectrum, each seeking
to make their mark on Wisconsin politics. Representative Brill
made headlines in her first week after sitting out the vote,
where Assembly Speaker Robin Vos won a record seventh term in
that office. >> I just felt we needed to head
in a more conservative direction. I think there's
sometimes some things that went a little more moderate than I
would have voted for, but I respect the way the vote went
and I look forward to working with leadership and knowing
that, trusting that they'll lead us where we need to go.
>> In contrast to Brill, Cruz brings a progressive perspective
to Madison as the first Latina to represent Racine and a member
of the LGBTQ community. She ran unopposed in the newly drawn
district 62. >> He had been the most
gerrymandered state in the country, and that these more
fair maps presented an opportunity to actually be in
the state House and be an advocate in a way that
potentially could be more effective.
>> Cruz is the president of her local teacher's union and first
got involved in politics when the state legislature passed act
10 in 2011, which made it harder for teachers to unionize.
>> I'll open it up for debate. >> I feel like everybody wants
to talk about money, right? It's budget season.
>> Her top priority going into this budget session is funding
for public schools. >> People just want a hand up.
And in terms of meeting basic needs, that's mostly what what I
heard on the doors, the opportunity to purchase a home,
the opportunity to send their kids to school just to have
like, just their basic needs me. >> On Monday, she met with union
teachers at Schulte Elementary in her district. They shared
concerns about an April referendum and how they'll
support their students if it doesn't pass. Representative
Cruz says the answer is in the state budget.
>> I encourage you strongly to use your teacher voices. Call
your legislators. Let them know. Like this is you need to fully
fund public schools. You need to fully fund special education.
That's something the state superintendent, Jill Underly,
put into her recommended budget to the governor.
>> In Sheboygan, Representative Brill got started in politics.
Jung. >> My mom had kind of always
been the political one in our house. We spent many times
talking about the pro-life movement, how we wanted to be a
part of protecting the unborn. Campaign manager was good
friends with my mom, and he came to her funeral, and I promised
him I would carry on the torch. >> Brill took over her mother's
hobby farm after her passing. >> This time of year, production
is down a little bit. >> She says she ran with the
goal of protecting life beginning at conception, an
>> I know that's probably not one that I'm going to reach
across the aisle and probably have a lot of conversations
about, but I do think there are others.
priority is addressing the fentanyl crisis in her district.
>> Being able to see how people struggle in our community was
one of my main pushes to want to go to Madison to see change for
them. >> Brill works at Samaritan's
Hand, a faith based drug and alcohol treatment center, and
was named vice chair of the Committee on Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Prevention. >> These are people I've cared
about. These are people I've called family I've lost, and
people are still here. My dad has been sober for 12 years, and
his journey was a part of me wanting to get involved in here.
>> Back in Madison, Representatives Brill and Cruz
continue navigating their first term in the legislature. Cruz
says she has never felt more like a grade schooler.
>> One of the things I always liked about teaching is working
with kids. They bring such new and fresh perspectives and are
excited about everything. >> She says that in a way, there
are 31 new kids under the dome. >> Maybe that's a you can assign
that to our naivete about what we're about to experience, but I
like to think it brings an energy that maybe, maybe is
needed at this moment in time. >> Throughout our state, we have
constituents who have elected Republicans and Democrats to
represent us. So at the end of the day, we're called to work
together to best represent our >> Reporting from Sheboygan and
Racine. I'm Aditi Debnath for "Here& Now".
>> For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit
our website at PBS Wisconsin and then click on the news tab.
That's our program for tonight. I'm Frederica Freyberg. Have a
good weekend. [MUSIC]
>> Funding for "Here& Now" is provided by the Focus Fund for
Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.