scott jensen rep
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font><div><div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Scott Jensen</b> is a former Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker who was charged with multiple crimes stemming from abuse of his office</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. According to the Wisconsin </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Journal-Sentinel</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">:</span></font></p><blockquote style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jensen was charged in 2002 with misconduct in public office on accusations of using state resources and state workers to campaign for Assembly Republicans in 1998 and 2000 elections. Four other legislative leaders from both parties were charged around the same time. All but Jensen accepted plea agreements.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2006, a Dane County jury convicted Jensen of three felonies and a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison but was allowed to remain free while appealing the case.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The state Appeals Court overturned the felony convictions in late 2007 and ordered a new trial, in part because Jensen was barred at trial from testifying about his understanding of whether Democratic leaders also were using state resources to campaign. Jensen wanted to testify about that to show that his use of state resources for campaigns put him on an even footing with Democrats, rather than giving him a dishonest advantage.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jensen did not appeal his misdemeanor conviction.</font></p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The new trial was put on hold while Jensen, of Brookfield, argued that the case should be moved to Waukesha County. In general, trials are held where crimes are alleged to have occurred. But the Legislature rewrote the law in 2007 to say politicians charged with ethics violations would be tried in their home counties.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scott_Jensen#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a></sup></font></blockquote><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Ties_to_the_American_Legislative_Exchange_Council"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council</font></span></h2><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jensen is a member of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" title="American Legislative Exchange Council" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC).</font></p><table style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: top; border: 1px solid rgb(201, 215, 240);"><tbody><tr><th style="background: rgb(41, 102, 184); border: 1px solid rgb(64, 127, 212); text-align: left; padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">About ALEC</font></th></tr><tr><td><div style="padding: 2px 5px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/ALEC" title="ALEC" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">ALEC</a> is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://alecexposed.org/" style="text-decoration: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">ALECexposed.org</a>, and check out breaking news on our <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prwatch.org/" style="text-decoration: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">PRWatch.org site</a>.</font></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Sourcewatch_resources"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sourcewatch resources</font></span></h2><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/MacIver_Institute" title="MacIver Institute" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">MacIver Institute</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Kathy_Nickolaus" title="Kathy Nickolaus" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Kathy Nickolaus</a> (Waukesha County, WI Clerk who worked with Scott Jensen and for the Republican Assembly Caucus when Jensen was charged criminally -- she was granted immunity from prosecution in the case).</font></li></ul><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="External_resources"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">External resources</font></span></h2><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cory Liebman, <i>Eye on Wisconsin</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://eye-on-wisconsin.blogspot.com/2009/03/shady-org-lies-about-jensen-ties.html" style="text-decoration: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Shady ORG Lies about Jensen Ties</a>, March 9, 2009</font></li></ul><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Contact"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contact</font></span></h2><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="References"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">References</font></span></h2><ol class="references" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-cite-backlink" style="user-select: none;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scott_Jensen#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="user-select: none; top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important;">Jump up</span>↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mike Johnson, Jason Stein <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/112195794.html" style="text-decoration: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Jensen settles misconduct case; felonies dropped; He is likely barred from running for office, must pay fine, court costs</a>, Milwaukee <i>Journal Sentinel</i>, December 20, 2010</span></font></li></ol></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both;"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Categories</a>: </font><ul style="list-style: none none; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: none; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em; zoom: 1;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Stubs" title="Category:Stubs" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Stubs</a></font></font></font></font></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:ALEC_Exposed" title="Category:ALEC Exposed" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">ALEC Exposed</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Politics(U.S.)" title="Category:Politics (U.S.)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Politics (U.S.)</a></li><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 0px 0.5em; zoom: 1;"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:ALEC_Politicians" title="Category:ALEC Politicians" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">ALEC Politicians</a></li></ul></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scott_Jensen</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ALEC agenda for this year’s State and Policy Summit contains the usual potpourri of anti-worker, anti-government proposals along with quite a few important pay-to-play measures for big telecom, health care companies, and nuclear utilities. But much of the agenda will be taken up with speculation on opportunities presented by a new Trump presidency to advance ALEC’s corporatist agenda and its politicians.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRANSPARENCY FOR UNIONS AND SCHOOL TEACHERS, BUT NOT FOR BILLIONAIRES OR CORPORATIONS BANKROLLING ALEC</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s offshoot for local governments, ACCE, is taking a page from the ALEC play book and advancing a measure to harass public sector workers.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ACCE’s “<a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/public-employee-bargaining-transparency-ordinance/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Public Employee Bargaining Transparency Ordinance</a>” targets public sector workers by opening up public sector collective bargaining negotiations to public scrutiny and participation. The bill is nothing but an effort to advance the harassment of a targeted group of public-sector workers. There are no ALEC bills opening closed partisan caucuses or opening up economic development loan negotiations, other areas of state government where millions are spent with no public participation.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Similarly, ALEC’s bill “<a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/substantive-transparency-in-education-act/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Substantive Transparency in Education Act</a>” is up for renewal vote by special interest lobbyists and legislators in the Education and Workforce Development Task Force<b>. The bill requires public schools to open up their instructional materials for review by any parent or guardian. Note that the bill does not apply to private schools and many private charters refuse to abide by state open meetings and open records laws</b>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC, however, is for secrecy when it benefits itself and its donors.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">It is notable that another ALEC bill under consideration at this week’s meeting “<a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/resolution-in-support-of-nonprofit-donor-privacy/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Resolution in Support of Nonprofit Donor Privacy</a>” recommends that the public be kept in the dark when it comes to finding out which millionaires or corporate interests are bankrolling ALEC, because the poor souls might be subject to public criticism or public pressure to drop their ALEC membership.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The resolution highlights 501 (c) (3) organizations like ALEC, but the operative language also protects 501 (c) (4) dark money groups like the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity. ALEC along with the State Policy Network, the <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Wall Street Journal</em>, and leaders of dark money groups have been fighting donor disclosure for dark money non-profits active in campaigns and elections. Wrapping dark money in the American flag and the Federalist Papers, they argue in endless articles, books, and speeches, that “anonymous speech” goes back to the founding fathers. But back then no Supreme Court had embraced the deeply flawed and corrosive concept that money <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">is</em> speech. They are sparing no effort to promote the idea that secrecy of donors is essential to protect First Amendment rights, despite the hundreds of millions now being secretly spent in elections without the disclosures the public supports to guard against corruption.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">It comes as no surprise that <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Wall Street Journal</em> editorial writer Kim<b> Strassel,</b> who has become the key proponent of this propagandistic effort to shield the billionaire class from scrutiny with her fact deficient new book “The Intimidation Game,” will be addressing the ALEC meeting. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Her book attempts to smear concerned citizens and small community organizations across the country that have successfully convinced over 100 ALEC firms to stop funding ALEC’s extreme agenda.</span></font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HOSTILITY TO RAISE THE WAGE EFFORTS</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’s offshoot organization for local officials ACCE is advancing a series of muddled measures geared toward keeping wages low and handicapping activist federal agencies.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The “<a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/a-local-resolution-in-support-of-state-minimum-wage-law/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Local Resolution in Support of a State Minimum Wage Law</a>” sounds like ACCE is in support of raising wages, but the cookie-cutter ordinance instructs local governments <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">not </em>to raise the minimum wage and to embrace preemption of local control by state legislatures. This is a rather odd position for a group whose model “<a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/founding-philosophy-and-principles-act/" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Founding Philosophy and Principals Act</a>” teaches American school children government “as close to the people as possible” is best.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But ALEC and its key funders like the billionaire Koch Brothers have long opposed any measure to raise the wage, including living wages and prevailing wages, and the Kochs have even characterized the federal minimum wage as an “obstacle to prosperity.” ALEC opposes even having a minimum wage for workers.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While ACCE favors state preemption of localities on some issues, on others it seeks unconstitutional local preemption of federal policy making. ACCE’s draft “<a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/an-ordinance-for-local-coordination-on-federal-regulations/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">Ordinance for Local Coordination on Federal Regulations</a>” suggests that any local government — from a city or county to a school or water district — or even an NGO can invoke a theory of “coordination” to “force” the federal government to meet with them on an equal basis to work out their differences. “Coordination” is defined as “the process by which an agency of the federal government brings its regulations, whether proposed or established, into consistency with the public policy of [the local jurisdiction.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So for instance if Superior, Wisconsin, thinks that the federal mercury standards for walleye and perch are too strict, ACCE thinks they should be able to impose their own notions on the federal government. In truth, ALEC has no consistent position on federalism or local control and simply attempts to hamstring any policy it or its funders don’t like.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC’S EXTREME EDUCATION AGENDA ADVANCES WITH TRUMP PICK OF BETSY DEVOS</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC education bills were not publicly available at the time of this writing, but the nomination of billionaire Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary is a big win for the ALEC crowd and will be a hot topic at the ALEC meeting.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">DeVos and her husband of the AmWay fortune have long bankrolled the dark money group, American Federation for Children (AFC), which spends big each election cycle on politicians advancing her agenda to transform Americas public education system into a for-profit “cash for kids” enterprise. As CMD <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/11/13180/5-things-know-about-billionaire-betsy-devos-trump-choice-education" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">reported recently</a>, AFC aggressively promotes school vouchers for private schools, religious schools, and even sham virtual schools through <b>ALEC where DeVos lobbyist Scott Jensen, </b><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scott_Jensen" target="blank" style="background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">the disgraced</a> former Speaker of the Assembly, has played a leadership role.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CMD has also documented how charter schools promoted by DeVos in her home state of Michigan have been embroiled in fraud and <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/files/new_charter_school_black_hole_report_oct_21_2015.pdf" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">scandal</a>, and how the state has even received federal tax dollars for charters that never opened. The <em style="box-sizing: inherit;">New York Times </em>has covered in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/us/for-detroits-children-more-school-choice-but-not-better-schools.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">depth</a> how they are failing the state’s children. Even charter advocates acknowledge that her efforts in Detroit represent “the biggest school reform disaster <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/opinion/betsy-devos-and-the-wrong-way-to-fix-schools.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out; text-decoration: none;">in the country</a>.”..,.</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">cmd 2015 report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">WISCONSIN </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2009, Wisconsin was awarded up to $69.7 million in a CSP grant that ran through 2015. As
with other states, Wisconsin was praised for the “flexibility” given to charter schools by state law.
Wisconsin was in the first wave of states to approve charter schools, in 1993, through a
bill modeled on the “Charter Schools Act” pushed by the American Legislative Exchange
Council, which took credit for it being introduced and becoming law.<b> (Governor Tommy
Thompson (R-WI) was an early ALEC legislative member, and as governor he became known
for numerous “reforms” that later were spawned by ALEC</b>, which Thompson essentially
conceded in a public speech years later.)
Initially, Wisconsin capped the number of charters but today it has over 240 charters with nearly
50,000 students enrolled. Earlier this year, Wisconsin expanded who can authorize charters.
More than 90 charters have failed and closed in Wisconsin, including more than two
dozen just in Milwaukee alone. The reasons cited for <b>closures include allegations of financial
improprieties and fraud, financial mismanagement, poor academic performance, low enrollment,
failure to hire enough qualified teachers, and more. Among those failed charters are nearly a
dozen, at least, that were federal CSP sub-grantees, as noted in the list below.</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> CSP SUB-GRANTEES IN WISCONSIN THAT SUBSEQUENTLY CLOSED...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font></div>