MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers on Friday ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff in honor of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pursuant to 4 U.S.C. § 7(m). Gov. Evers today formally issued Executive Order #89 requiring flags to be flown at half-staff at all buildings, grounds, and military installations of the state of Wisconsin equipped with such flags until sunset on the date of interment.

“Justice Ginsburg was a stalwart public servant who spent her life working to hold our country accountable for our promises of equity, equality, truth, and justice. What a devastating loss,” said Gov. Evers.

Executive Order #89 can be found here.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/caleb-frostman-lvp-s5.jpgResignation effective immediately, DOC Deputy Secretary Pechacek to lead transition.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/voting-2020-538-s5.jpgVOTE411 is a “one-stop-shop” for nonpartisan election information, allowing voters to have access to unbiased candidate information.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/vote-47-mb1-s5.jpgIn Wisconsin, residents filed a lawsuit against state officials who forced in-person voting in April. The RNC and the Republican Party of Wisconsin back the defendants.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/gb-police-s5.jpgBill would help Green Bay Police Department hire local DACA resident as a police officer.

College graduates had a reasonable expectation of employment, but even before the pandemic, that expectation was on the decline, as the economy changed. We need workers who can think and adapt.

Brookfield, WI – Americans value hard work and take pride in a job well done.  As automation and artificial intelligence move ever forward, and as Americans lose their jobs, what jobs will replace them? Democrat Tom Palzewicz knows this will be an issue for Wisconsin's Fifth Congressional District.

"That's the ultimate question," Palzewicz said. "Milwaukee used to be the tool and die making capital of the country.  Now all of those jobs are gone. Allis Chalmers is gone. A.O. Smith is gone, American Motors folded, our Chrysler plants closed.  Jobs in the future might be more about thinking than doing.  After working in risk management for banks, I transitioned to teaching.  Now I teach managers how to manage people."

"As globalization expands, there will be a tremendous shift.  It will not be about what I produce, but what I think about and the creation of ideas.  The biggest shift in the future will be in getting value out of doing work. It's almost an existential crisis, on the same level as climate. If we don't handle it correctly we will pay a dear price. If we let capitalism decide this one, we're going to be in huge trouble because the playing field is far too skewed toward capital versus labor."

People need to earn a living wage, where universal basic income comes into play, as jobs diminish.  But there are problems in advancing that idea.

"My conservative friends might be thinking when you're talking about universal, basic income,' If you don't work, you don't eat, and I don't owe you a living.'  That's one of the significant hurdles we're going to have to get over.  But it's happening. We've already begun that process. We're producing more people with college degrees, but that doesn't translate into the workforce's needs.  How do you take what you learned and put it into something that resembles work?"

"A liberal arts education is often overlooked in favor of specialized areas of learning.  However, it develops a well-rounded, thinking individual.  In so many industries there are hiring freezes.  I went into banking and risk management.  My degree was in accounting, but I had to make the adjustment to meet the needs of the industry.  Later on, I created my own business."

In years past, college graduates had a reasonable expectation of employment, but even before the pandemic, that expectation was on the decline, as the economy changed.

"It's not like people will have a job. People will do things in exchange for money and add value where they can, but it might be several things," said Palzewicz. "And it might be dozens of things over somebody's lifetime that they move in and out of and provide value to. But this whole idea of chasing a job that has benefits and a retirement plan is absolutely gone at this point."

Palzewicz wants to level the playing field and bring capital and labor closer together, to share in the American dream.

Massive change in the nature of work will require many to learn new skills.

Brookfield, WI – We live in an age of technology, with automation and artificial intelligence no longer being things of science fiction, but the reality of today's life.  Robotic surgery has forever changed healthcare, and assembly lines in factories no longer require workers.  The massive change requires us to look at what work will be in the years and decades ahead.  Democrat Tom Palzewicz, running for the Fifth Congressional District seat, believes America needs to plan now for the future and make the necessary adjustments.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th Century, America has been transformed from a largely agrarian society into an industrial power and then into a technological leader as the world economy has become global. Where do people fit into the new equation? What will work look like?  Will there be any need for people?  More importantly, for Palzewicz, will the ever-expanding divide between rich and poor and the elimination of the middle class spell the end of the American dream?

"We need to start thinking about what work really means, and what's the value that people play in society?" Palzewicz asks. "In America, people have always been our greatest asset, people from all countries and cultures.  We are the great melting pot of the world.  As automation takes more and more jobs away, we need to think about workers and what becomes of them.  As we move forward, we need to look at what work will look like and examine the value of work."

Most people agree that if you do not work, you don't eat. It's a familiar phrase.  If there is no job, or automation replaces a vast majority of the workforce, we lessen the opportunity to earn a living wage considerably.

"I had gone through periods in my life when it was difficult to make ends meet, as have so many others," said Palzewicz. "It was a challenge sometimes to keep a roof over your head or even keep fed. I had periods when health insurance wasn't available to me, and I didn't necessarily have the money to pay out-of-pocket.  I was going to school, and the potential was there, but the reality was I didn't have the employment that would offer me the opportunity to own a home and raise a family.  My wife, Terri, and I had challenges.

"We need to look seriously at universal basic income.  Healthcare, food and shelter are your starting points.  With the advent of automation, jobs will disappear and incomes with that.  We can agree that people need to earn their keep."

Where people will fit into the system is the key question to be answered.

"The question then becomes, as a society, what do we consider to be the value of a person?", Palzewicz asks. "Who gets the benefit of automation and what's going to be the disparity between capital and labor.  That is the ultimate question. At this point, workers will build automation machines that will put them out of work."

Palzewicz sees the need to restructure education and workforce training to meet the new economic challenges ahead.

Award honors talented women in state government dedicated to serving the people of Wisconsin and who go above and beyond to help others.

MADISON – Gov. Tony Evers announced today he is seeking nominations for the 37^th annual Virginia Hart Special Recognition Award recognizing the contribution and achievements of women in Wisconsin state government.

“The Virginia Hart Award has always emphasized celebrating women in state government dedicated to serving the people of Wisconsin and who go above and beyond to help others,” said Gov. Evers. “There is no doubt that Ms. Hart’s leadership and tremendous legacy live on through this award.”

Virginia Hart was Wisconsin’s first woman to hold the position of cabinet secretary, serving as Secretary of the Department of Regulation and Licensing, chairperson of the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations, and chairperson of the Labor and Industry Review Commission.  Following her retirement, Ms. Hart’s friends and colleagues established a fund in 1983 to annually recognize the contributions of a woman in state government.

The Virginia Hart Award recognizes “unsung heroines” in state service who share the following qualities: esteem from peers; acceptance of responsibility beyond the limits of the nominee’s job description; sustained, extraordinary achievement of assigned tasks; performance recognition from clients; community service; self-improvement; and overcoming handicaps to performance.

Nominations may be made by anyone and are accepted through October 2, 2020. All women employed in state government are eligible. The winner will receive $250 and will be honored via a pre-recorded, virtual award ceremony that will debut online on October 30, 2020. 

The Virginia Hart Award is administered by the Department of Administration (DOA). The nomination form and additional eligibility requirements are available here. Please submit all nominations by October 2, 2020 to: Hart Recognition Committee, Attn: Nicole Guardiola, by email at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/domestic-violence2-s5.jpgReport includes 2019 Homicides and a Review of 20 Years of Data.

Funding will go for 42 public infrastructure and facility projects across Wisconsin.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, with Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) Secretary Joel Brennan, today announced more than $36 million in funding for 42 public infrastructure and facility projects across Wisconsin. The funding is awarded to local units of government as part of a competitive grant process for the 2020 Community Development Block Grants for Public Facilities (CDBG-PF) program.

“This funding is not only critical to public safety, but to improving Wisconsin communities across our state where folks enjoy living, working, learning, and recreating,” said Gov. Evers. “These 42 projects will benefit Wisconsinites from Antigo to Whitehall and will bolster our communities.”

“Investing in core infrastructure services ensures Wisconsinites can remain proud of the communities in which they live, work and raise families, as well as maintain a positive and healthy quality of life,” said DOA Secretary Brennan.

The grants will be used by local governments to assist with infrastructure and facility projects totaling more than $72 million. The projects include but are not limited to water, stormwater, and sanitary sewer improvements and replacement activities, as well as sidewalk and surface street projects, and blight elimination activities. 

Administered through the DOA Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources, CDBG-PF grants are open to all units of general and local governments that do not receive CDBG awards directly through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). CDBG-PF grants have the programmatic goals of:

• ensuring the affordability of basic services that enhance community vitality;
• supporting the revitalization of established neighborhoods, downtown business districts, and blighted sites;
• assisting with capital improvement projects that support previous planning efforts and are part of broader community development strategies;
• improving the accessibility of public facilities; and
• encouraging the use of energy-efficient design, retrofitting, and equipment, as well as projects that benefit bicyclists and pedestrians.

More information regarding CDBG-PF grants is available here. A list of 2020 CDBG-PF awardees, grant amounts, and total project costs is available here.