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Currently without a right to legal counsel, few Milwaukeeans are able to afford an attorney when facing eviction. A new proposal aims to change that.
There is an impending eviction crisis in the United States.
As eviction moratoriums end around the nation, many people are facing the reality of losing their homes. The impact can be devastating, not just to the families experiencing it, but to the greater community. But currently in Milwaukee and many places across the United States, residents are not guaranteed legal representation in non-criminal court cases including eviction cases.
A new resolution by Milwaukee County Supervisor Ryan Clancy would change that. The right to counsel program would give all Milwaukeean’s facing eviction or foreclosure access to legal counsel. Similar programs in New York and Cleveland have helped keep people in their homes and avoid the eviction process altogether.
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On March 11, a new bill, referred to as SB-119 or the “Fund the Police Bill,” was discussed in the Wisconsin legislature at a public hearing in Madison. Under this bill, cities and towns that make any decreases to local police budgets would have money deducted from the amount each municipality receives from the state budget. In addition, the amount taken from these municipalities would be distributed to those that
did not take any money from their police budget.
Pro-police policies like this are an effective counter to any kind of legislative reforms aimed at defunding, restructuring or creating community control of the police. Due to the conservative nature of Wisconsin politics, very few have spoken out against the proposal. Milwaukee County Supervisors Ryan Clancy and Joseph J. Czarnezki have been among few elected officials to actively oppose the bill.
County on track to have lowest level of street homelessness ever recorded, housing director said. By Graham Kilmer - May 13th, 2021 10:44 am //end headline wrapper ?>Homes on N. 20th St. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Milwaukee County has used federal funding to prevent an estimated 5,480 evictions since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
David Crowley, the county put approximately $18 million of its allocation from the CARES Act into eviction prevention and housing assistance.
The county started cutting checks to renters and homeowners in June to keep them in their homes. Since then, the county has spent down nearly all of the money it has put towards rent and mortgage assistance.
Voces protests removal of immigrant-centered policies from state budget by Republicans
The Wisconsin State Capitol was closed to the public for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It only took four days after reopening for Republicans in the Legislature to draw a large group of protesters to the hallway outside the Joint Finance Committee meeting (JFC).
On Wednesday, JFC co-chairs Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) released their plan to gut hundreds of items from Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal among them, provisions that would have restored access to driver’s licenses and state IDs for immigrants and provided tuition aid for immigrant students at Wisconsin universities.
Tony Evers’ budget proposal among them, provisions that would have restored access to driver’s licenses and state IDs for immigrants and provided tuition aid for immigrant students at Wisconsin universities.
Immigration activists unveil a banner in the Capitol rotunda. Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner.
By Thursday morning, protesters organized by Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights organization, had descended on the Capitol from across the state to protest the Republicans’ actions.
Dozens of protesters, chanting for justice and holding signs pleading for driver’s licenses, packed the hallway outside the committee meeting. Multiple Democratic legislators and elected officials from Milwaukee, including Milwaukee County Supervisor