Latest news with #MilwaukeeHousingAuthority
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Borowski: We use and fight for open records. When we do, we're fighting for you as well
Years ago, I attended a conference on investigative reporting and a particular way of thinking about reporting stuck with me: Operate with the conviction that every piece of information you may need for a story is written down somewhere. And: You are entitled to it. Not just you, as a journalist, you as a citizen. Think about it. Every ticket written, every bill passed, every judgement filed, every contract signed, every bonus paid, every campaign contribution received, every dinner bought, every report filed – about inmates being punished, potholes being filled, travel being taken, taxes raised. That's nothing to be alarmed about. Quite the opposite: It's something to be celebrated. That's what news organizations do each year, as they mark Sunshine Week, which begins Sunday. The week recognizes a bedrock aspect of our Constitution, the First Amendment, and two things that give it real teeth – open meetings laws and open records laws (often given the shorthand of FOIA, for the federal Freedom of Information Act). Now, in practice, these laws carry some exceptions. We understand that. But the spirit is clear: Information about what government is doing should be available to the maximum extent possible, to be used by the people that government serves. That's all of us. At the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, we use these laws all the time in pursuit of stories that serve our readers and our communities. This ranges from exposing gaps in Milwaukee County's 'Brady List' of police officers found to be untruthful to gathering data from 72 Wisconsin counties to understand the real picture of gun deaths in the state. We've also used public records to expose problems at the Milwaukee Housing Authority, in state prisons, Milwaukee Public Schools, even how the chair of the Milwaukee County Board expensed roller blades and a MAC membership. Nowhere in those laws does it say this information is available to journalists. All of that same information is available to anyone. It's why you can search court cases online, and check campaign contributions and read the same information elected officials do before they vote on bills and measures. If you want to see what you're paying in property taxes, compared to your neighbor, you can. If you want to see how many times cars have been ticketed for speeding on your street, you can. That's why I'm especially proud of an initiative launched by our staff. To help bring more awareness to public records, Journal Sentinel staffers have been offering public records training sessions to resident-led groups across the city. For instance, on a recent Saturday, reporters Ashley Luthern and John Diedrich – members of our investigative team – joined a dozen residents at Amani United's regular meeting to talk about public records. In an interactive presentation, the two walked through what a public record is — and is not — and where residents can find data, information and other records. They gave practical examples: How to request a police report, where to look up property inspection records and how to find the latest on licensing of new businesses in the area. Our reporters will be back with Amani United next month for a second session to give hands-on help to residents who want to find specific pieces of information or file their own records requests. If you would like reporters to join your neighborhood meeting to talk public records, let us know – you can email Ashley, our deputy investigations editor, at That's one thing we can do. What can you do? First, you can support independent journalism. It can cost a lot of money to obtain records – from police body cam footage to databases to stacks of documents. Often, those holding the records will drive the costs as high as possible, causing some to abandon the effort. There are many ways through the Local Media Foundation, a nonprofit group, that you can make a difference for our newsroom – including a donation that will advance our work. Second, push back when a public official wants to give you less information, or create new barriers to getting information it should provide readily. We've seen that most recently at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office, which suddenly is refusing to provide basic information to the public in a timely manner on deaths it investigates: homicides, fatal crashes, drug overdoses, weather-related deaths. This includes such key information as when and where an incident occurred. Under the recently-retired Karen Domagalski, the office had set a gold-standard for openness. No longer. Combine the new hurdles with the Milwaukee Police Department's refusal in its news releases about incidents to even give the gender of a victim, and it means you know much less about the public safety picture in our community. Now, as a newsroom, we can push back – and we will. And we will keep seeking the same information from alternate sources, from family members and others, in order to cover such a vital topic with depth and context. We will not be deterred. But something important is lost when information becomes less available. And if it is harder for us to get it, that means it is harder for you as well. So, if you have a question someone is refusing to answer, or the answers you're getting don't make sense, tell us about it. You can leave us a news tip at or by emailing wisconsininvestigates@ or by calling 414-319-9061. Remember those two principles from the start of this piece? What you want to know is almost certainly written down somewhere. And: With few exceptions, you're entitled to see it. Here's a third: If someone says you can't, keep trying. Because chances are there is something to see. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Mary Spicuzza and Wisconsin public records legal expert Tom Kamenick will be answering questions about open records requests on Reddit at Monday at noon. Greg Borowski is executive editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @GregJBorowski and reach him via Connect with the Journal Sentinel Support our reporting on the environment, underserved communities and other areas: Send a news tip: Reach the newsroom: jsmetro@ or 414-224-2318 Subscribe and support independent journalism: This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Borowski: We fight for open records. When we do, we're figting for you
USA Today
28-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Milwaukee mayor says federal grant freeze could impair police, water works, lead poisoning prevention
Police. Milwaukee Water Works. Lead poisoning prevention. All are local government services that could be impaired by a freeze on federal grant funding, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said Tuesday as his administration worked to understand the implications of the freeze that was ordered by the administration of President Donald Trump just to be temporarily blocked by a federal court. "What's clear is that there's tens of millions of dollars — literally tens of millions of dollars — that are at stake here in Milwaukee," Johnson said in an afternoon press conference before the judge blocked the freeze. The scrambling at various levels of government followed the issuance of a memo by Trump's budget office directing agencies to pause federal grants Tuesday evening so they can be reviewed to ensure they fit with the new Republican president's priorities. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, called the measure "draconian" and said the consequences of the funding freeze would not be limited to Democratic cities like Milwaukee. She raised concerns about the implications for education, community health centers, the Women, Infants and Children program, the provision of Meals on Wheels and more. "These people are waiting on (Meals on Wheels) to pull up. They're not in the position to pause eating for 60 days or 90 days or whatever this review will require," Moore said of the program that provides meals to older adults who are homebound. Johnson, a fellow Democrat, said he and his administration had "serious concerns" and were trying to answer fundamental questions, including how long the freeze would last. "I'm working with my departments in order to fully analyze and understand how the White House memo might impact the work that they do," he said. "At the same time, I'm working with other local units of government as well as with organizations that represent municipalities in order to strategize on how to mitigate the potential damage a funding pause might cause here and elsewhere in our state and our country." Milwaukee County was experiencing a similar lack of clarity. Shortly after Trump's November election, questions swirled at the county level about how the new administration would affect ongoing federally funding projects. For Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the memo reignited those concerns. Crowley 'is very concerned about the potential impacts to not only County projects and services, but the overall health and safety of Milwaukee County residents, families, and children who rely on federally-funded programs and services,' a statement from his office said. The statement, however, said that it is 'too soon' to know the impacts that pauses on federal funding could have on county projects and services, including health and human services as well as transportation. Milwaukee Housing Authority navigating questions Officials inside the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee are "keeping a close eye on" the federal funding freeze, spokesperson Amy Hall said Tuesday afternoon. The Housing Authority, which provides about 15,000 Milwaukee residents with housing assistance each year, relies on the federal government for about three-quarters of its annual funding. The agency operates more than 5,000 rental units across the City of Milwaukee, which are largely rented by low-income, elderly and disabled residents. It also administers about 6,000 Section 8 rent assistance vouchers, which helps low-income individuals and families afford their rent. Hall said it was still unclear how the White House's order would affect the Housing Authority and its tenants, but called the situation "very concerning," given the agency's reliance on federal funds. Milwaukee Police Department COPS grant status unclear A spokesperson for the Milwaukee Police Department deferred comment to the Mayor's Office when asked how the department could be affected by the freeze. The city's police department receives some federal funding through initiatives like the COPS grant, a U.S. Department of Justice program that provides funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire officers. Other grants include funding from things like the JAG grant, which was conveyed in 2021 and was slated to run through 2025. In December, the city approved a $6.25 million COPS grant to fund 50 new police officers. It was not immediately clear how the COPS grant funding would be affected. "This is the problem, right, is that there's so many unanswered questions about how this impacts us at the local level," Johnson said. "If there's a pause on this and there are officers who are presently being funded by a grant, what does that mean?" Frozen funds have been appropriated by Congress Moore noted the dollars that are being frozen have already been appropriated by Congress. "These are dollars that have been debated, they've been debated, they've passed both the House and the Senate. ... The power of the purse starts in the House of Representatives of which I'm a member, and this is law," she said. Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@
