Tuesday, July 7: Contractor hired for prison reforms, Wisconsin gets storm aid, states work to keep wind power going, Dems turn against Platner in Maine, high court won’t take challenge to sheriffs
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I appreciate that they’re doing this, but yes… this is money that also could’ve been put towards an ombuds for someone that’s in it for the long haul, And also not someone who’s depending on a paycheck from the DOC.“
– Susan Franzen, of the prison reform advocacy group Ladies of SCI, on the contract the Wisconsin Department of Corrections has entered into to make recommending changes, addressing serious problems in the prison system
Replica of a solitary confinement cell in Wisconsin. (Courtesy of Talib Akbar)
A consulting firm that produced a report on Wisconsin’s prison system for the Department of Corrections now has a contract to implement some of the reforms it recommended. Reform groups say they would to have more input as the project moves forward. Andrew Kennard, a fellow with our Criminal Justice Project, reports on the reform recommendations and reactions to them.
After denying requests for disaster relief to Wisconsin over recent months, President Donald Trump has approved $22.6 million in assistance to several counties that experienced extreme weather in April. Trump used social media to promote the campaign of Republican nominee for governor Tom Tiffany, while Democratic Gov. Tony Evers charged the president with “playing politics” with disaster relief, Isiah Holmes reports.
As the feds block new offshore wind energy permits and dangle billion-dollar buyout offers to convince developers to walk away from their projects, state leaders are hoping some companies share their conviction that the wind power industry can be revived after Trump leaves office. Alex Brown of Stateline has the story.
The Maine Democratic Party and several prominent state and national lawmakers are calling on U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the pivotal race to defeat Sen. Susan Collins after a Politico report of allegations of sexual assault against him. Eesha Pendharkar of our sibling newsroom Maine Morning Star has the latest.
PLUS:
ICYMI
Democrats, Republicans alike focus on states’ rights as a way out of America’s political woes | Kevin Hardy and Jonathan Shorman
While the federal government has released aid in response to April's weather disasters in Wisconsin, aid has been denied for previous storms including the one that caused this flooding at Hart Park in Wauwatosa in August 2025. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
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