Editorial Roundup: Wisconsin

By The Associated Press The Associated Press

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. April 15, 2024.

Editorial: Stay safe on the streets

There are a ton of different awareness weeks over the course of the year. Ironically, most people aren’t aware of them (which suggests a complete failure to achieve the goals, but we digress).

One happening this week probably falls under that category for most, but it’s important. It’s Work Zone Awareness Week.

We’ll grant that nobody really likes work zones. They can be a pain to navigate and they slow traffic considerably. They’re a necessity, though, and people need to pay close attention while traveling through them.

The evidence suggests that’s not happening as routinely as it should. There were more than 2,100 crashes in work zones last year in Wisconsin. Nine people were killed and more than 700 were injured.

That’s fairly close to the average over the past five years. It’s also unacceptable, especially when officials say most of those incidents were caused by one of three factors: speeding, tailgating and distracted driving.

None of those three factors is unavoidable. They’re the result of conscious choices drivers make.

Nationally, the picture isn’t much better. The Federal Highway Administration hasn’t released 2023 statistics yet, but there were 891 people killed in work zones in 2022. That’s down from more than 960 in 2021.

Unsurprisingly, speed raises risk. The large majority of deaths were on interstates or arterial roads. It’s also not surprising that speeding was a factor in slightly more than a third of the fatalities.

Things happen far faster than we often appreciate while driving. Let’s say you steal a quick glance at your phone while driving in a work zone at 45 mph. Nothing much, just three seconds. By the time you look back up you’ve gone 200 feet. We’re going to bet you’re not leaving 200 feet between you and the car in front of you, and we’ll guarantee there’s not usually 200 feet between you and the work being done.

Most of the injuries and fatalities are people in vehicles. Wisconsin is averaging about one worker per year killed by passing vehicles, though.

Sure, some of the crashes probably involve bad weather. This is Wisconsin, after all. But when so many can be avoided by simply driving carefully and paying attention it’s frustrating to see these kinds of numbers. There’s the money spent on vehicle repairs or replacements. There’s the time lost while sorting out the results of even a minor fender bender. Above all, there are the people who are hurt.

Folks, please slow down when you reach construction areas. Make sure you’re wearing your seat belt. Leave a bit of extra room between you and the vehicle ahead of you. And for crying out loud put down the phone.

It makes sense that this particular awareness week is held in the spring. This is when construction and repair work ramps back up after the winter months. We’re already seeing some new projects in the Chippewa Valley. That makes a reminder valuable.

Like we said, we get it. The delays road work causes aren’t fun. The choice is usually between complaining about that or complaining about the road needing repairs, though. They’re a necessity.

The roads aren’t going to quit needing repairs, so it’s up to us to be better drivers while that work is being done. We can be. It really doesn’t take much. So make that effort while you’re out on the roads. Remember, there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with guiding a ton of steel down the highway.

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Wisconsin State Journal. April 14, 2024.

Editorial: Don’t let the cost of Wisconsin’s prisons dodge scrutiny

School taxes get a lot of attention from taxpayers, and for good reason. They are the biggest chunk of your property tax bill in cities such as Madison, and the highest expense in the state budget at $7 billion a year.

But what about prisons? The cost of locking people up deserves at least as much attention as the price tag for educating them.

Wisconsin spends more tax dollars on prisons ($1.4 billion last year) than it does on its universities ($1.25 billion). Prison spending increased 14% over the last four years — faster than state spending on K-12 schools and the Universities of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin now spends more per capita ($220) on prisons than neighboring states and twice as much as Minnesota, according to the latest comparisons by the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Wisconsin imprisons Black people at the highest rate in the nation, and has suffered dire staffing shortages, lockdowns, suicides and lawsuits at outdated and crowded prisons in Waupun, Green Bay and elsewhere.

What’s going on, and how do we fix it?

We all want safe communities, and the worst violent criminals should stay behind bars.

But most offenders — armed robbers, drug dealers and more — will eventually get out after serving their sentences. What can the state do to better ensure they stay out of trouble, find work and housing, and improve their lives? Supporting positive behavior is far less expensive than punishment.

We want to hear solutions from candidates for the statehouse this fall.

Many inmates need better access to treatment for drug and alcohol abuse — both in prison and after they get out. Nearly three-fourths of prisoners released on supervision in Wisconsin had “a substantial need for substance abuse treatment in 2022,” the Wisconsin Policy Forum reported in October, citing corrections data.

Wisconsin also requires longer periods of supervision after release, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum. The federal government and other states limit probation to three to five years, according to the group’s report, while Wisconsin can require supervision for more than a decade.

This creates more potential for rule violations and revocations unrelated to criminal activity. A Columbia University study in 2019 suggested more than 1 in 5 of Wisconsin’s inmates were behind bars for violating a rule after their release — not because they committed a new crime.

Legalizing small amounts of marijuana, as surrounding states have, would reduce needless charges that can add to sentences for serious crimes. The Republican-run Legislature should stop stalling this reasonable change for adults so police can concentrate on serious offenses.

Of course, investing in treatment and diversion programs as well as job and housing assistance for people released from prison will initially require more money. But it will be worth it if Wisconsin can finally reduce its high incarceration rate, which is the main driver of higher prison spending. It costs far more to imprison someone than to help them find work and live on their own.

Gov. Tony Evers agreed with a goal for cutting Wisconsin’s prison population in half during his first bid for governor in 2018. The inmate population fell sharply in 2020 because of the pandemic, which slowed court trials and stalled prison admissions. But in recent years, the numbers have crept back up.

Wisconsin’s prison population was 23,374 in December 2018, just before Evers took office. As of last week, it was around 22,400, just 4% less.

Evers and Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr declined to meet with our editorial board to discuss prison policy in recent months. Carr recently announced his departure from the job.

The most pressing problem for Wisconsin’s prisons are awful conditions at maximum-security facilities such as Waupun and Green Bay. These institutions have kept inmates isolated in their cells for months with few if any activities because of staffing shortages and assaults. More than half of the correctional officer jobs at the Waupun prison were still vacant last week, according to the DOC’s website, and more than a quarter are unfilled statewide.

The lack of movement and visits from family can aggravate the mental health of inmates. It also can limit medical attention and positive programming.

State leaders in their latest budget agreed to hike the pay for prison guards to fill positions. That will be costly yet necessary to improve staff recruitment and, by extension, inmate rehabilitation.

The governor’s staff blames the Legislature for failing to fund many of his prison initiatives, including treating 17-year-olds as juveniles instead of adults in Wisconsin’s justice system. That’s what most states do, giving young offenders more attention and time to mature.

Republicans fault the governor for releasing violent people, and for resisting construction of a modern prison to replace aging facilities.

State leaders must work together to lower Wisconsin’s prison population — not by releasing dangerous people, but by making sure those who have served their time don’t reoffend.

Far too many lives are being wasted behind bars when Wisconsin needs more workers. Far too many dollars are paying for punishment, rather than people’s potential.

Wisconsin must turn that around in smart ways that don’t jeopardize public safety.

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