Here & Now

Here & Now for June 7, 2024

Announcer:
The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production. You’re watching “Here & Now” 2024 election coverage.

Josh Kaul:
This morning, we filed a criminal complaint in Dane County Circuit Court charging three defendants in connection with an alleged conspiracy.

Frederica Freyberg:
Four years later, the fake electors scheme sees charges filed by the Wisconsin attorney general and the outgoing Waupun prison warden charged with misconduct in office in the midst of death investigations at the facility.
I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” an investigation into deaths at Waupun prison leads to arrests and charges against the warden and eight others. Zac Schultz has a report. Wisconsin’s top prosecutor files felony charges against three alleged architects of the false electors scheme. The Milwaukee Public Schools superintendent quits leaving the state’s largest school system in a financial mess, and reaction from a teacher and parent. Plus, the head of the state Democratic Party talks about this year’s elections. It’s “Here & Now” for June 7.

Announcer:
Funding for ” Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:
First tonight, nine employees of the Waupun Correctional Institute including the warden have been arrested and charged for abuse of a prisoner and misconduct in office. And once again, there are calls to close the oldest prison in Wisconsin. “Here & Now” reporter Zac Schultz has the story.

Dale Schmidt:
We are operating the oldest prison in the state of Wisconsin at a dangerous and reckless manner.

Zac Schultz:
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt did not mince words at a press conference Wednesday, where he released the details from an investigation into the deaths of multiple inmates at the Waupun Correctional Institute.

Dale Schmidt:
As the sheriff, I am angered at how these men were treated and how they died.

Zac Schultz:
There have been four deaths since last June, and while the sheriff expressed concern about the treatment of all four inmates, only two deaths resulted in felony charges. Two officers and a nurse are charged with abuse of a resident of a penal facility for repeatedly failing to check on an inmate who died of a stroke last October. An inmate’s death in February led to seven employees charged for abuse of a resident and misconduct in office, failure to perform a known duty. In that case, an inmate’s water was turned on and off over the course of multiple days, with no record staff let the mentally ill inmate know when water was available. Video evidence shows the guards also failed to deliver meals and medication, and then falsified records showing they had checked on the inmate.

Dale Schmidt:
The cause of death: probable dehydration and failure to thrive due to malnutrition.

Zac Schultz:
The death was ruled a homicide, but no one will be charged for that. Instead, the sheriff says the death was a result of a lack of staffing, training and accountability. That’s why Warden Randall Hepp was charged with felony misconduct. In an interview with investigators, Warden Hepp said, “This is the inevitable outcome of a long-term staffing deficit in this type of environment. This is what you’re going to get.”

Dale Schmidt:
We are failure properly — failing to properly staff these facilities. Waupun Correctional has over 50% vacancy of staff.

Zac Schultz:
Waupun is so understaffed, inmates have been on a type of lockdown called a modified movement plan for more than a year. The FBI and the state Department of Corrections both have open investigations into the deaths at Waupun and multiple civil lawsuits have been filed. Corrections makes up a large portion of the state budget, so it’s always been political, and it didn’t take long for lawmakers to point fingers. Republicans blamed the leadership of Governor Tony Evers and promised investigations. Some Democrats Zac Schultz called for Waupun and Green Bay Correctional, the state’s second oldest prison, to be closed. While Evers put out a statement promising to release the results of the state internal investigation immediately.

Rohn Bishop:
Nothing gets fixed because they blame each other and there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Zac Schultz:
Rohn Bishop is the mayor of Waupun. He says Wisconsin’s prisons have been ignored for too long, and after Act 10 removed union protections, staffing and morale crashed.

Rohn Bishop:
The last few governors, I don’t think, have done much for corrections. You can go back — Scott Walker never came to Waupun and never visited a prison. Tony Evers has done that, but I don’t think he’s taken the bull by the horns and fixed any of these problems.

Zac Schultz:
Sheriff Schmidt says the solution is obvious.

Dale Schmidt:
My recommendations to the state of Wisconsin that you seriously consider renovating the housing units or closing and replacing Waupun Correctional and Green Bay Correctional.

Zac Schultz:
Bishop said he will oppose any effort to close down Waupun Correctional. As the state’s oldest prison, it’s part of the fabric of the community. Located just two blocks off Main Street and surrounded on all sides by homes and churches.

Rohn Bishop:
The problem isn’t the building. The problem is it was understaffed and there’s policies from up above that need to be fixed. There’s a lot of blame to go around, and I think there’s a lot of blame to go back a good 15 years.

Zac Schultz:
Reporting from Dodge County, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Frederica Freyberg:
In other legal news, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul this week filed felony criminal charges against three of Donald Trump’s associates in connection with the false elector scheme staged following the 2020 election.

Josh Kaul:
Specifically, the complaint charges Kenneth J. Cheseboro, Michael A. Roman, and James R. Troupis, with conspiring to commit the crime of uttering as genuine a forged writing or object in violation of Wisconsin statutes.

Frederica Freyberg:
A forty-seven-page criminal complaint alleges a plot to flip Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes from Joe Biden to Trump by forging a fake list of elector certificates at a meeting at the state Capitol. The complaint states that on January 6th, 2021, defendants Cheseboro and Troupis exchanged messages about attempting to deliver the unappointed elector certificate to Vice President Pence during the Joint Session of Congress. They then called defendant Roman to “make sure he gets what he needs.” The fake elector certificates were never delivered to then Vice President Pence. Of the three men charged, only attorney and former judge James Troupis is a Wisconsin resident. The defendants are scheduled for an initial appearance in Dane County Circuit Court in September. If convicted, the maximum sentence is six years in prison.
When it comes to elections, Wisconsin is the land of the nail biter. Those words from our next guest state Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler. He’s heading off to the state party convention this weekend in Milwaukee. We spoke to the state Republican Party chair last month. Ahead of that convention. Ben Wikler joins us now. Thanks a lot for being here.

Ben Wikler:
Great to be with you.

Frederica Freyberg:
So as you head into your party convention, what are the stakes in this upcoming election up and down the ballot?

Ben Wikler:
This election really is a hinge moment that will swing one way or the other in the fight for freedom, for the freedom to make our own decisions about our own bodies, get the health care that we need in our state, the freedom of the people to choose their leaders as opposed to people overturning elections and the freedom to get a family-supporting job, be able to organize for representation in a workplace, build an economy that works for everyone. As against from the Republican MAGA politicians, from Trump down to the state Legislature over and over attempts to ban abortion, attempts to shred democracy and overturn elections where the people have made one decision and they want to throw that decision out and on the, on the right from the Republican side of the aisle, we’re seeing attempt after attempt to give massive tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and then stick the middle class with the bill. We think we should be bringing down costs for the middle class, and the wealthy should pay their fair share. Those are the stakes in this election, and you see it at every level of the election. And Wisconsin specifically will tilt the entire country. So it really could not be a more consequential moment for American democracy and for voters in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:
In Wisconsin, polls indeed do show a nail biter between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. How do you think Trump’s 34 felony count conviction plays, even as he is massively fundraising off it?

Ben Wikler:
Trump’s 34 felony convictions underscore the threat that he poses to voters who want to be able to make their own decisions about the kind of country we should be. Trump cheated. He broke the law and then broke the law to cover up his lawbreaking in order to get into the White House in the first place. Then when he was in office, he tried to extort a U.S. ally to make up attacks against Joe Biden. Then he lost the election again, oversaw criminal conspiracy to overturn the election. We just saw indictments this week in Wisconsin and now he wants to get back into the White House in order to, as he puts it, become retribution to exact his revenge on the people he perceives as his enemies. And frankly, anyone who voted against him before, anyone who’s concerned about the idea that he should have total immunity and total power, you might be on his enemies list. This is not a comfortable situation for democracy. And the felony convictions underscore that he will do anything, break any law in order to grab what he wants, even if the public does not want to give it to him.

Frederica Freyberg:
On the other hand, how does Joe Biden overcome low approval ratings and the apparent blame for inflation?

Ben Wikler:
What’s striking about this election is that the more voters learn about what Trump has planned for the country, the more they support Joe Biden. And the more they know about Joe Biden’s accomplishments and what he has planned for the next term. The more they support Joe Biden. So the more information we can get out to people, the more we can communicate in ways that break through the noise and are memorable and connect with people’s deepest values, the better off Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot will be. And that is the job of every volunteer of the campaigns of voters who believe that it’s important to choose someone who will bring decency and continue to bring integrity and a focus on working Wisconsin voters to the next term.

Frederica Freyberg:
How is your base feeling about the president’s executive order effectively shutting the borders in the case of reaching a cap on migrant crossings?

Ben Wikler:
There’s a lot of concern from a huge swath of Americans about the situation at the border. And what most Americans want is what people have been advocating for for years, which is a solution that involves securing the border and creating pathways for legal immigration. A pathway to citizenship for folks that have been here following the law, paying taxes. And there was actually a tough and fair border security bill agreed to by Democrats and Republicans that Trump shot down. So this is, this is a far cry from an actual legislative solution that that Trump refused to allow Republicans to vote for. But it’s President Biden working to do something that, that is within — potentially within his reach to do while he advocates for a more long-term solution to this crisis. This system, the situation we have right now, it doesn’t work for anyone and Americans deserve better. They deserve a bipartisan agreement that can ensure that we have a safe and orderly system and can address the crisis at the border and the humanitarian crisis associated with it. And ensure that people who are here to build a brighter tomorrow have a legal pathway to follow the American dream.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, abortion figures prominently in your “Fighting for Our Freedoms” platform. How salient, though, is that issue for Wisconsin voters who now have access to abortion?

Ben Wikler:
The abortion ban that was passed in 1849 and loomed over the state as the court cases began right here, when every abortion provider in Wisconsin stopped providing care after the Dobbs decision, that is in very recent memory for Wisconsinites. And many Wisconsinites know someone personally who is directly affected by that abortion ban. We’re one bad election away from an abortion ban coming back into place. Whether it’s Trump with Project 2025, his plan to create a de facto abortion ban even without passing a law or the kinds of national abortion bans that Mike Johnson would pass, probably with help from people like Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil if they go back to the U.S. House, all the way to our state, where Republicans in our state Legislature have been supporting and supported by the most — not just anti-abortion, but anti-contraception extreme groups. And we know there’s an anti-abortion extremist running for Supreme Court in 2025: Brad Schimel. So this is very real. And the threat is felt very personally to voters. It might not be what you think about every day when you wake up, but what we found over and over is that when you have a conversation with someone at your front door or with a friend who’s reaching out to talk to you about the campaign, it’s an uncrossable line, the idea that a politician would invade your family’s private choices about medical care, that people should be making their own decisions about. That’s not something that Wisconsinites are ready to accept.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right Ben Wikler. Thanks very much.

Ben Wikler:
Thanks so much for having me on.

Frederica Freyberg:
Turning now to environmental news, hundreds turned out in Ashland for public hearings this week on a proposed addition and reroute of the controversial Line 5 pipeline. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held the hearings on a proposal by the Canadian Enbridge Energy Company to install 40 miles of new pipeline, seen in red in a reroute of Line 5 around the Bad River Reservation. As to the reroute, the tribe sued Enbridge over concerns of leaks and ruptures affecting the watershed, and a federal judge ruled the company must remove the pipeline from tribal land by 2026.

Rene Ann Goodrich:
They have been told to leave. Bad River does not want you there.

Evan Feinauer:
We’re talking about lengthening our addiction and our commitment to using this thing to flow oil and gas through it at a time when we need to be doing everything we can as fast as we can to stop that.

Frederica Freyberg:
Those in favor say the pipeline is needed to maintain energy independence, is safe and will create jobs.

Aaron Raab:
We are in support of Enbridge to get Line 5, the reroute underway. Get these, get these permits through so our members, a lot of tradesmen from northern Wisconsin and across the state, can get to work on this project.

Jennifer Smith:
Without Line 5, there would be a significant impact to not only the fuel, but definitely the natural gas liquids. That would raise prices. It could cause shortages.

Frederica Freyberg:
Currently, Line 5 transports half a million barrels of oil and gas every day from Western Canada through Wisconsin and Michigan.
Also this week, President Joe Biden took action on the hot political issue of immigration and border control.

Joe Biden:
They choose to come without permission and against the law, they’ll be restricted from receiving asylum and staying in the United States.

Frederica Freyberg:
Asylum requests would be shut down when ports of entry averaged 2500 encounters with migrants per day. Because numbers are higher than that now, this means that the border could be closed to migrants effective immediately. We asked Erin Barbato of the UW-Madison Law School’s Immigration Justice Clinic for her reaction Erin Barbato.

Erin Barbato:
I’m not surprised that there is a more restrictive policy that is coming across, even from Biden’s office, because it has become so politicized and there’s so much misunderstanding about the border. You know, all we do is hear “influx” and “emergency.” And, but we’re really forgetting about that this is a humanitarian issue. And that as the United States, we have laws that allow people to seek protection here when they will be persecuted or have been persecuted in their home country, and now we’re just blocking that off again for many people that will be, would otherwise be eligible for protections in the U.S. But as a political — the political nature of immigration right now is I think this is by restricting things at the border is the only way someone is going to gain popularity with the general population, even though that’s incredibly disheartening.

Frederica Freyberg:
Financial and operational mayhem at Milwaukee Public Schools resulted this week in the resignation of the district’s superintendent and the firing of its comptroller in charge of finances. Educational and political heavyweights like former governor Tommy Thompson are calling to dissolve MPS. Midweek the district responded to the dysfunction.

Marva Herndon:
I can tell you we’re investigating and we will provide updates as soon as we’re able to do so.

Jilly Gokalgandhi:
The district was still in need of those resources to fill what we would be in, which is dire financial straits.

Frederica Freyberg:
Even in the midst of passing a $252 million referendum, the district failed to submit mandatory financial reports to the state. As a result, DPI is withholding nearly $17 million in state aid because the reports are now nine months past due. Plus, federal officials cut the district’s Head Start funding for early learners after finding incidents of verbal and physical abuse and lack of supervision. All of this came to a head at a school board hearing this week during which the superintendent tendered his resignation. MPS teacher and parent and chair of the Black Educators Caucus, Angela Harris, joins us with her reaction. And Angela, thanks a lot for being here.

Angela Harris:
Thank you for inviting me.

Frederica Freyberg:
So how would you describe what happened this week?

Angela Harris:
If I had to choose one word to describe what happened this week, it would definitely be chaos. It was very — it was a very chaotic week. There were new revelations every day about what was going on in the district. Things that we as staff, community members are not — we’re not aware of. Right? We had no idea what was happening behind closed doors within our district.

Frederica Freyberg:
And so what was your reaction to those revelations?

Angela Harris:
I was very disappointed. I was very disheartened to hear that this was what was happening, particularly on the heels of a $252 million referendum.

Frederica Freyberg:
You had been calling for the removal of the superintendent. Is that because you believe he was ultimately responsible for the financial mayhem, as we called it?

Angela Harris:
I believe that the responsibility starts with him. But I don’t believe that the responsibility stops with him. I think that as the head leader of our district, he definitely holds some culpability in what was going on in terms of our financial paperwork not being submitted in a timely manner. Do I feel like he is the sole responsible person for this happening? Absolutely not.

Frederica Freyberg:
Why were you calling even prior to this for his resignation?

Angela Harris:
We had had questions about Superintendent Posley’s leadership through the pandemic. Right? The district had received several hundred million dollars in federal funding through ESSER funding. And we were questioning at the time the way that that funding was being allocated. The way that community voice was not being listened to in terms of how that money should be spent and allocated. And so it was really during that time that we really began to question the fiscal responsibility and the fiscal management of Milwaukee Public Schools.

Frederica Freyberg:
So you spoke to this a moment ago but what was your reaction to the district successfully passing again this $252 million referendum at the same time that their financial books apparently were not square?

Angela Harris:
It really makes it hard for the community, for staff to trust our district, knowing that they knew that these financial — this financial paperwork had not been submitted on time and that it could negatively impact our finances. And they knew this while simultaneously asking for the community to raise our property taxes, to provide financial assistance to a district that can’t even make sure that their financial paperwork is submitted in a timely manner.

Frederica Freyberg:
So how concerned are you then, about the suspension of state aid to Milwaukee?

Angela Harris:
I’m extremely concerned because although DPI says, right, this money is just being withheld, and if the paperwork is submitted and everything is correct, they will release the funds. My worry is what if the paperwork is not correct and what if they have to withhold money that they will not return. These are monies that we cannot afford to lose. MPS cannot afford to lose not a single dollar.

Frederica Freyberg:
Also as we discussed, there’s the loss of federal funding because MPS Head Start programs were found to have maltreatment of children. What is your response to that as a second-grade teacher who no doubt sees some of these youngsters who are in head Start and then come into your school?

Angela Harris:
I am really saddened by that loss especially. We know that when students have access to quality K-3 and K-4 education, that definitely makes my job easier as a second grade teacher, right, because they are experiencing not only the academic side of learning, they’re also getting that social and emotional learning that happens in those spaces as well that they wouldn’t otherwise get if they were at home. And to know that a program that is supposed to be accessible to some of our most marginalized families, right, Head Start is a program that is for families that are specifically low income, to know that they will then suffer a loss because of our financial mismanagement and our mismanagement of this program. It just really makes me sad for our students and our families here in Milwaukee.

Frederica Freyberg:
And what about the idea of these little children reportedly suffering this maltreatment?

Angela Harris:
That is very, very concerning to hear. I mean, as an educator, a lifelong educator, right, I have to pass a background check. If I were to ever hurt a child, I would lose my license and lose my job and be unable to work with children any further. So to know that not only are these children now losing an opportunity to help levy some of the academic disparities that they face, but they were also being harmed and will potentially have some trauma that is related to that care as well is just really devastating to hear.

Frederica Freyberg:
As a teacher and a parent of students, I understand, attending MPS, do you feel like all of this dysfunction trickles down into the classroom?

Angela Harris:
Oh, 100%. I always say, you know, it is very difficult to bear ripe fruit from a rotten tree. And so when we have issues that are happening in the very highest levels of our district, it’s only natural that that is going to boil down to the classroom, to the school, to the teachers, to the students. And I mean, ultimately in our community as well.

Frederica Freyberg:
What is morale like among staff?

Angela Harris:
I think at this point, there’s a lot of uncertainty that exists among staff. People are often asking like, is my job — will my job be safe if we lose this funding? What does that mean for my job? There’s so many questions that still remain due to the lack of transparency from the district.

Frederica Freyberg:
When you hear people like Tommy Thompson and others calling to dissolve MPS, do you think that’s a good idea?

Angela Harris:
I absolutely do not believe that dissolving Milwaukee Public Schools is the answer. Milwaukee Public Schools is the largest public school system here in our state. We serve the largest number of students. Public school is a right. Everyone is entitled to a free and appropriate public education. And as we begin to have conversations about dismantling Milwaukee Public Schools that means that we’re dismantling that ability for students to have that free access to public education that serves all students and not just some. I think that Milwaukee Public Schools definitely needs structural change. But, being dismantled is not in the best interest of our city or our community.

Frederica Freyberg:
We leave it there. Angela Harris, thank you very much.

Angela Harris:
Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:
For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our website at PBSwisconsin.org and then click on the news tab. To see all of our election coverage, visit WisconsinVote.org. That’s our program for tonight. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a good weekend.

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Funding for ” Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.