Author: Correspondent

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) have completed a four-year Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) with recognition that HACM has greatly exceeded goals for the Section 3 program that provides job and contracting opportunities to public housing and other low-income residents. Section 3 is a HUD workforce development program that sets hiring and contracting benchmarks for housing and community development projects receiving federal assistance. The program is designed to provide greater access to employment and other economic opportunities for low-income and very low-income persons, particularly those who...

NeighborWorks Alliance of Wisconsin recently released its 2015-2017 Economic Impact Report which found the six member organizations provided impact to the state totaling more than $572 million over the past three years. Additionally, the organizations helped create or sustain more than 3,870 jobs during the same three-year period. “Communities throughout Wisconsin have tremendous economic impact from the housing and community development activities provided by the NeighborWorks Alliance of Wisconsin organizations,” said Noel Halvorsen, Chair of the NeighborWorks Alliance of Wisconsin and Executive Director of NeighborWorks Green Bay. “These effects stem from robust public and private partnerships developed by the...

They say what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, but when it comes to public records, the state Legislature doesn’t seem to believe in this principle. In Wisconsin, cities, police and fire departments, state agencies, and even the governor’s office are required to retain public records and make these available to the public. For example, emails generated by staff in the Department of Justice must be retained for three years from the date of creation and then transferred to the Wisconsin Historical Society or UW-Madison archives. For most of our state’s history, these rules also applied...

Ten years ago, Illinois enacted a law that imposes important protections against companies collecting and storing our biometric information — including using facial recognition — without public knowledge and consent. The law is called the Biometric Information Privacy Act. Although facial recognition was relatively crude when it was passed, the wisdom of the Illinois decision has been played out over the last decade, as facial recognition and other biometric collection has developed and spread. On December 17, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) co-filed a friend-of-the-court brief in federal appeals court defending the Illinois law against arguments advanced by...

A resolution that aims to increase voter registration opportunities via City workers was approved unanimously on December 18 by the Milwaukee Common Council. The measure directs the Election Commission to implement a program to train and certify all City of Milwaukee employees who interact with the public to register Milwaukee residents to vote. While there are currently voting registration options via City centers, such as kiosks in libraries and health centers, lead sponsor Alderman Khalif Rainey wanted every possible avenue explored to further create a strong electorate. Once signed into the law, the resolution gives the Milwaukee Department of...

The Federal Commission on School Safety issued recommendations on December 19, claiming that they will help makes schools safer following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. However, at the center of the report is a proposal that will endanger millions of public school students, especially students of color and students with disabilities. The plan reverses federal guidance intended to address racial disparities in school discipline. Doing away with the guidance will weaken federal civil rights protections at a time when the Government Accountability Office reports that Black K-12 students receive punishments that are overly severe and frequent in schools...