‘People s Maps Commission’ can only make suggestions which Republican legislators say they will reject. //end headline wrapper ?>Assembly Districts
A redistricting commission set up by Gov.
Tony Evers will consider “partisan fairness” as one of its criteria for drawing its version of a legislative map for the next decade.
While the change sounds simple, it’s a departure from the way redistricting plans have typically been drawn and could result in a Legislature that more closely resembles Wisconsin’s statewide elections, which are consistently among the most narrowly divided in the nation.
Under guidelines approved Thursday night, any proposal drawn by The People’s Maps Commission would still emphasize traditional redistricting criteria. Those include the idea of one person, one vote making sure districts are roughly equal in population based on results of the latest census. Districts would also have to be compact and contiguous.
Ziegler replaces Patience Roggensack, who did not seek re-election. //end headline wrapper ?>Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban Milwaukee
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler. File Photo by Coburn Dukehart/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
Conservative Justice
Annette Ziegler will be the next chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court after she was elected to job by her colleagues Wednesday.
Ziegler replaces outgoing Chief Justice
Patience Roggensack, a fellow conservative who did not seek reelection to the post but remains on the court.
Ziegler’s first day as chief justice will be May 1.
Roggensack was first elected chief justice in 2015 after Wisconsin voters approved a referendum changing the way Wisconsin picks its chief justice. Previously, they’d been chosen by seniority, but under a constitutional amendment narrowly approved by voters, future chief justices would be elected by their peers on the court.
$70 million in monthly aid jeopardized after court ruling ended governor’s pandemic emergency order. //end headline wrapper ?>Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban Milwaukee
Gov. Tony Evers steps away from the lectern after speaking to reporters about a COVID-19 vaccination clinic Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, at Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Gov.
Tony Evers said Tuesday that his administration had struck a deal with the federal government to allow Wisconsin to continue receiving more than $70 million per month in food assistance.
The funding which was set aside for states with statewide COVID-19 emergency declarations had been in limbo ever since the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Evers’ last statewide emergency order and mask mandate.
4-3 State Supreme Court ruling overthrows October order limiting restaurant and bar capacity. //end headline wrapper ?>Wisconsin Supreme Court. Photo by Dave Reid.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court further whittled away state government’s public health emergency powers Wednesday, ruling Gov.
Tony Evers‘ administration overstepped its authority last year when it tried to restrict bar and restaurant capacity to slow the spread of COVID-19.
It is the third time the court has ruled against the Evers administration’s efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic and the second time in just the past month.
Andrea Palm issued the restrictions in question on Oct. 6, citing a surge in COVID-19 cases that made Wisconsin one of the nation’s hotspots. While the order included myriad exemptions, it limited businesses like bars and restaurants to 25 percent of their usual indoor capacity.