Documents would shine light on whether DPI is illegally implementing ESSA The News: On Thursday, February 7, 2019, WILL sued the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the state [...]
WILL’s lawsuit in defense of Wisconsin wedding barns earned widespread attention in state and national media. The Associated Press reported: Attorneys for the conservative Wisconsin [...]
Best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host, Larry Elder, notes our Apples to Apples report, writing in Investor’s Business Daily: The Wisconsin Institute for Law [...]
Cato Institute’s Corey DeAngelis and WILL’s Research Director, Will Flanders, write in the Washington Examiner how their research shows that the marketplace in education does, indeed, [...]
Campus Reform continues to closely follow our lawsuit against Northeast Wisconsin Technical College on behalf of Polly Olsen, who was disciplined by the school for handing out religiously themed [...]
WILL’s Executive Vice President, CJ Szafir and Researcher Cori Petersen write at the Wall Street Journal about how Milwaukee Public Schools refuse to sell vacant schools to [...]
WILL Research Director, Will Flanders, PhD, wrote in the Washington Examiner about the “absurd drama” that played out in Shorewood, WI over the school’s decision to put on, then [...]
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at our most recent report, Keeping Score, and notes how reforms collective bargaining reforms (2011 Act 10) led to increased student achievement. The [...]
National Taxpayer’s Union’s Andrew Wilford and WILL’s Lucas Vebber write at the Wisconsin State Journal how tax policy should be the exclusive purview of the state legislature [...]
As a legislative committee considers updating Wisconsin’s liquor licensing laws, we’ve pointed out how their efforts may very well shut down the increasingly popular wedding barn [...]
WILL Research Director, Dr. Will Flanders, writes in the Washington Examiner on how research shows that spending more money on schools doesn’t help students necessarily learn. As fall fast [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg gives his thoughts to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the pace with which legislation moves through the State Legislature. Rick Esenberg, the [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg and Director of Public Engagement Collin Roth write in National Review Online on the market distorting effects of tax incentives and crony [...]
It makes little sense to pay struggling businesses to “save jobs” during a labor shortage August 17, 2018 – Milwaukee, WI — WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg and WILL [...]
WILL Research Associate and Writer, Cori Petersen, writes in the Wall Street Journal on Washington’s failure to protect private property and help manage Wisconsin’s burgeoning wolf [...]
Bruce Thompson, the Data Wonk, writes at UrbanMilwaukee on how judges associated with the Federalist Society are gaining prominence. Although five of the seven Wisconsin Supreme Court justices [...]
WILL’s CJ Szafir and Cori Petersen write at RealClearEducation on school choice and education reformers need to better target and message their advocacy to win converts and inform the [...]
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports on our efforts urging the court to force state lawmakers to turn over electronic records when electronic records are asked for: Conservative and government [...]
National Catholic Register reports on Professor John McAdams win against Marquette University in his nationally-watched academic freedom case: Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has come down firmly on [...]
The Wall Street Journal covers Professor John McAdams’ Wisconsin Supreme Court win in his academic freedom case against Marquette University. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that [...]
WILL’s Dr. Will Flanders writes at National Review online on how to win over school choice skeptics by using effective messaging and data: School choice in the United States was once a [...]
WUWM talks with Rick Esenberg on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Gill v. Whitford, Wisconsin’s legislative redistricting case. Justices ruled that the plaintiffs were trying to [...]
Roger Clegg and Hans A. Von Spakovsky take a look at our letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos which urges her to scrap Obama-era suspension policy guidelines. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and [...]
Rick Esenberg writing at RealClearPolitics on why the U.S. Supreme Court punted on Wisconsin’s redistricting case, Gill v. Whitford: In the eagerly awaited redistricting case, Gill v. [...]
WILL Associate Counsel Libby Sobic and WILL Writer and Reseach Associate Cori Peterson write in UrbanMilwaukee on how selling vacant buildings could alleviate the school system’s financial [...]
A new “study” from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute (EPI) purports to show that Minnesota has had better economic outcomes under liberal Democrat Governor Mark Dayton than conservative [...]
WILL’s President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg, and Executive Vice President, CJ Szafir, write in The Weekly Standard, on how the ACLU and other opponents of Wisconsin’s school [...]
WILL Associate Counsel Libby Sobic and WILL Research Director Will Flanders write at RightWisconsin that MPS’ so-called budget woes could be alleviated if they’d dispense with some of [...]
The Wisconsin State Journal covers today’s hearing at the Wisconsin Supreme Court in our case, Koschkee v. Evers. The lawsuit is latest move in a seven-year battle between Evers, the only [...]
The Wisconsin State Journal weighs in on our dispute with State Representative Brostoff, urging a more open and less costly approach to government records. We hope state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff [...]
The CapTimes in Madison writes an editorial, declaring that policymakers must do a better job at keeping government open and transparent. The cause of transparency in government — which is [...]
Writing at RealClearEducation, WILL Research Director Will Flanders notes that: [T]here is quiet crisis taking place in rural schools across America in a neglected corner far from the debates [...]
An editorial from the Racine Journal Times this weekend writes about our fight with State Representative Jonathan Brostoff over his refusal to provide electronic copies of records we had [...]
The Modesto Bee (distributing an Associated Press article) writes about our win in our open records lawsuit against State Representative Jonathan Brostoff: Taxpayers will pay nearly $2,000 to [...]
Covering our lawsuit against Wisconsin State Representative Jonathan Brostoff, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes: Taxpayers will pay about $2,000 in legal fees for a Democratic lawmaker who [...]
The National Catholic Register on the McAdams v. Marquette case currently being reviewed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court: The Jesuit university suspended McAdams, a tenured professor with 40 years [...]
The Heartland Institute takes a look at Dr. Will Flanders annual review of school performance rankings and notes that, The results of these school choice programs should not be surprising. In May [...]
The Cap Times recaps the probing questions from the Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices during oral arguments in McAdams v. Marquette. Suspended Marquette University professor John McAdams told [...]
WUWM covers the oral arguments in Professor McAdams’ case against Marquette University: The Wisconsin Supreme Court is considering a case involving academic freedom. Suspended Marquette [...]
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel continues their coverage of the McAdams v. Marquette saga. Suspended Marquette University political science professor John McAdams hopes the state Supreme Court [...]
WILL President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg, writes at The Federalist: Intolerance towards conservative speakers on college campuses often follows the same story line: A small cadre of [...]
WILL Research Director, Dr. Will Flanders and WILL Writer and Research Associate Cori O’Connor write in the Washington Examiner: School reformers agree that one essential step to improving [...]
Lawsuit asks to decide if blog post was protected academic debate or internet trolling From the article: Courts have ruled that professors at public universities have robust First Amendment [...]
WILL President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg writing in the Weekly Standard on our lawsuit challenging Wisconsin law that prohibits cemetery owners from providing funeral services to [...]
WILL Research Fellow, Natalie Goodnow, writes in the Washington Examiner on the impact of the opioid crisis on the country’s foster care system. We may not always think of children when we [...]
WILL’s Research Director, Dr. Will Flanders, writes at Real Clear Education: But in a number of other states with conservative leadership, progress on ESAs has been much slower. [...]
From the Washington Times: MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has decided to take original jurisdiction of a case over how much policy-writing powers the independently elected [...]
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s latest coverage of our lawsuit challenging State Superintendent Tony Evers rulemaking and policy authority. GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel has said he [...]
Fox6 News Milwaukee’s Myra Sanchick sat down with Rick Esenberg today to discuss House Speaker Paul Ryan’s retirement announcement and what it means for Wisconsin and the country. [...]
City Journal reviews the data on Obama-era suspension policies and notes our report: The New York Times gloats that the report undercuts conservative claims that the Obama administration policy [...]
Charlie Sykes writes at The Weekly Standard: The Trump era, if nothing else, has shown that ideological alignments can be fluid and inconsistent. So fiscal conservatives can find themselves [...]
Isthmus, covering our open records lawsuit on their behalf against the Madison Police Department: The request for police records was made in December 2016 but not filled until after Isthmusand [...]
The Racine Journal Times editorial page writes: So how did this silly piece of legislation come to be? The original law change was simple enough: It extended the hours a winery could stay open [...]
Writing in the New York Daily News, WILL Research Director Will Flanders and Research Fellow, Natalie Goodnow, note our review of Obama-era school discipline policies: The Obama Administration [...]
Bemoaning policymaker efforts to keep records from public scrutiny, The Racine Journal Times writes: Sigh. Is it really that hard for state legislators to comply with the state’s open records [...]
The Wall Street Journal references our report, Collateral Damage, as they look at racial quotas in Special Education: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said that her team is “looking closely” [...]
WILL Research Director, Dr. Will Flanders, and the University of Arkansas Education Professor, Patrick Wolf, write in Education Next: A recent Wall Street Journal analysis of the Milwaukee [...]
WILL Research Director Dr. Will Flanders and CATO Institute’s Corey DeAngelis write in the Jackson Clarion Ledger: This is an exciting time for the children of Mississippi. Legislation that [...]
Piece reviews how current 9.18% mandatory markup law harms Wisconsin consumers, makes scofflaws of retailers like Krist Oil who want to offer competitive pricing, bargains January 29, 2018 [...]
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, WILL Executive Vice President CJ Szafir and Americans for Tax Reform call for the repeal of Wisconsin’s minimum markup law. It should be easy for [...]
Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel at WILL writes at RightWisconsin on the eminently qualified Judge Michael Brennan to serve on the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals: As to those [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg writes in the Racine Journal Times on the nomination of judicial conservative Michael Brennan’s nomination to the 7th Circuit Court of [...]
WILL Executive Vice President CJ Szafir and WILL Research Director Dr. Will Flanders write in the Washington Examiner: An under-told story in K-12 education is how the U.S. struggles to educate [...]
Collin Roth, WILL Research Fellow, writing at The Hill on how occupational licensing regulations lock people out of economic opportunity. You might be surprised to know that in some states it’s [...]
WILL’s 50 state study on occupational licensing receives national coverage November 10, 2017 – Milwaukee, WI – WILL’s recent report, Land of the Free? 50 state study on [...]
WILL President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg, and Deputy Counsel, CJ Szafir, write in The Hill, encouraging President Trump to be advocates at the national level for states to grow their [...]
Rick Esenberg and Jakes Curtis write at National Review Online about our pending case to #freethebutter, and stop Wisconsin’s war on Kerrygold butter. Apart from the obnoxious notion that [...]
Collin Roth writes in the USA Today on the effect of President Trump’s stated trade position on Wisconsin. Like it or not, President Donald Trump has charged ahead with a clear goal of [...]
Wisconsin Public Radio covered our most recent report, Apples to Apples, which looked at test scores at various types of schools and how they performed relative to one another. Our study showed [...]
Matthew Fernholz and WILL’s CJ Szafir writing in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on why Judge Neil Gorsuch was a great pick for the United States Supreme Court. “To many people — [...]
Fox6Now in Milwaukee asked WILL President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg, for his thoughts on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against President Trump’s Executive Order on [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg joined WTAQ’s Jerry Bader last week to discuss President Donald Trump’s nominee to the United States Supreme Court Judge Neil Gorsuch.
The Kenosha News covered WILL testimony to, and the mission of, the new Wisconsin State Assembly Committee on Federalism: “The committee is one of the few across the country tasked with [...]
Education Reformer is “Controversial” WILL VP and Deputy Counsel CJ Szafir and WILL Research Fellow Collin Roth writing at RightWisconsin: Democrats Like Tammy Baldwin Played Small [...]
The Washington Examiner takes a look at professor John McAdams’ case against Marquette University. It’s now been two years since he was banished from campus for exercising his [...]
Alan Borsuk at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel takes a critical, yet fair, look at our most recent report on the economic benefit of school choice to Milwaukee. “A new study from a [...]
A study from Wisconsin adds up some of the economic evidence. The Wall Street Journal profiled our most recent study that looked at the $500 million economic benefit of school choice to Milwaukee [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg writes in The Hill: “While Wisconsin law may need to be tightened, this appears to be an abuse of the recount process. Stein’s petition [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg writing in the Wisconsin Interest: “So I am not persuaded that the Trump movement is a misguided and inarticulate — but somehow [...]
The City of Milwaukee’s Board of Zoning Appeals has denied a permit for Right Step to purchase a vacant MPS school. Right Step is a military style program that emphasises discipline and [...]
WILL attorneys have been hard at work this week after announcing they will be challenging Wisconsin’s minimum markup law in court. The depression era law dates back to 1939 and has been a [...]
Molly Dill, managing editor at BizTimes Milwaukee, recently wrote an article on WILL’s fight against the minimum markup law, “Group challenges Wisconsin’s minimum markup law”. [...]
Tom Kamenick, deputy counsel and litigation manager at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, recently wrote a letter to the editor published in the Wausau Daily Herald, titled [...]
There is no denying that Milwaukee is in a very fragile state this week following riots that left neighborhood stores looted and burnt to the ground, cars totaled, and vandalism throughout the [...]
Blog Post written by Policy Intern for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Elena Ramlow, on Paul Ryan’s advocacy for free trade agreements. Against the backdrop of a stagnant [...]
After much resistance, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty has finally secured the approval of the Milwaukee Common Council to allow a new voucher school to purchase a vacant MPS [...]
ICYMI: WILL Vice President for Policy CJ Szafir and Research Fellow Collin Roth have published an op-ed in last weekend’s Wall Street Journal about the impact of Act 10 on Wisconsin after 5 [...]
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty hosted an exciting event in Madison to unveil its most recent project, the Center for Competitive Federalism (CCF). The press conference was well [...]
Rick Esenberg, President and General Council for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, wrote an op-ed for the Journal Sentinel commenting on the U.S. Department of Justices’ [...]
WILL’s recent report on Act 10 shares since the laws implementation 5-years ago, Wisconsin taxpayers have saved billions. The study also shows that the law had no significant effects on [...]
A recent report by WILL should provide relief to Wisconsin parents and critics of Act 10, the study shows that the law had little to no effect on teacher salaries, teacher experience or [...]
WILL has conducted the most comprehensive analysis to date of Act 10’s effect on teachers’ salary and benefits and the effect on classroom sizes. The report was authored by Marty Lueken with the [...]
“St. Augustine School in Hartford and parents of students who attend the school are suing DPI and the Freiss Lake School District. The parents, who are represented by conservative legal [...]
The College Fix writes about Marquette’s Professor John McAdams: “He has been a faculty member at Marquette for more than two decades, and he takes pride in fostering an environment [...]
WILL’s Research Fellow Collin Roth on Speaker of the House and fellow Wisconsinite, Paul Ryan: “Paul Ryan is stuck. He is passionate about his brand of optimistic, policy-driven [...]
WILL Education Policy Director, Dr. Will Flanders, writes in today’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “So what does this research mean? Given that independent charter schools give [...]
Will’s very own deputy counsel and litigation manager, Thomas Kamenick, wrote an article for the Wisconsin Law Journal on Wisconsin law enforcement agencies tendencies to black out [...]
Wisconsin, Dane County Court Judge William Foust has ruled that the state right-to-work law violates labor union’s legal entitlement to money earned by public workers. Many large unions have [...]
Dr. Will Flanders and CJ Szafir at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) co-authored a new report, “Bang for the Buck,” that analyzes which public schools in Milwaukee produce the [...]
RedState goes into detail and uses WILL’s reports on empty school buildings to explain how the taxpayers are losing when Milwaukee and MPS stall and hoarde buildings. A report from the [...]
From the WashingtonPost: A tenured professor and a legal institute are suing Marquette University, claiming a breach of contract for the suspension imposed after he publicly criticized an [...]
The Marquette Tribune published an article sharing the detailed interactions between the student involved in the McAdams case and Marquette Administrators. The article addresses controversial [...]
Writing in National Review, Lexi Hudson explores how developed social skills translates to increased socioeconomic opportunities: ““Good manners will open doors that the best education [...]
Five years after Act 10, WILL Vice President for Policy and Deputy Counsel CJ Szafir writes in National Review how Governor Walker’s reforms have saved taxpayers billions of dollars and [...]
The Wisconsin Public Records Board made significant changes last summer in determining what kind of records can be immediately destroyed. Many Wisconsinites have critisized the board for not [...]
One year after Wisconsin adopts Right to Work law, a federal judge has ruled it unconstitutional. Judge Foust shares, “a free-rider problem is born – the ability of nonmembers to refuse to pay [...]
The Milwaukee Common Council on Friday voted 14-0 to accept the recommendation of the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development committee to accept five charter and private schools as education [...]
Suspended Marquette University Political Science Professor John McAdams officially rejects President Michael Lovell’s punishment after his role in a 2014 controversy. Natalie Wickman covers [...]
WILL Deputy Counsel and Litigation Manager Tom Kamenick was out on the road last week, part of a seminar on open government. Panelists featured journalists and other practitioners and represented [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg appeared on Mike Gousha’s UpFront to discuss the campaign for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. “Esenberg wants the race between [...]
WILL Research Director, Dr. Will Flanders, writing in the Racine Journal Times: The Journal Times reported that the Racine Unified School District (RUSD) stands to lose $1.4 million in revenue [...]
WILL Senior Fellow Mario Loyola writing in National Review: “Critics of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker are mystified that the state is suing the federal government for a few tens of [...]
WILL’s Lead Education Analyst, Lexi Hudson, writing in the La Crosse Tribune, explores how transformative it would be for K-12 education if entrepreneurs approached education systems the [...]
Wall Street Journal’s Heather Haddon talks to WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg about the difficulties governors’s face (in this case, Wisconsin’s Scot Walker) in [...]
WILL Senior Counsel Mike Fischer writing in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “But the Constitution tells us only what has to happen — or not happen. It does not tell us what ought to happen. [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg weighs in on the debate over political tactics over appointing Justice Scalia’s replacement. “”There’s not going to be any [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg joined WTMJ’s Charlie Sykes earlier this week to discuss the sudden and tragic passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. You can [...]
WILL Senior Counsel Mike Fischer writes in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “Justice Antonin Scalia hardly would be surprised by the fact that his tragic and untimely death led almost [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg writing in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about the Senate’s proper role in the selection of Justice Scalia’s replacement. “To [...]
WILL Senior Fellow Mario Loyola writing on National Review Online about Donald Trump’s proclivities toward executive action and suspension of the duly passed laws of Congress. So if Obama [...]
WILL Senior Fellow Mario Loyola writing in National Review: To understand why the GOP working-class voter has lost faith in the GOP elites, one must understand why Americans have lost trust in [...]
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel continues their coverage of the Milwaukee Public Schools vacant and underused schools issue. In a bid to “expand”, MPS asks City of Milwaukee to provide [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg explores the state of conservatism in Wisconsin over at RightWisconsin. “Politics is an uncomfortable game. I appreciate the competing [...]
This morning the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel cites WILL Deputy Counsel and Litigation Manager Tom Kamenick in condemning proposed changes by the Public Records Board. Quoting Kamenick: [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg proffers an opinion on the potential for profligate spending in SCOWI elections. “Esenberg said Supreme Court races became salient about 10 [...]
WILL Deputy Counsel and Litigation Manager Tom Kamenick quoted extensively in the Journal-Sentinel: And a conservative group called the change an “invitation to abuse.” [...]
WILL Vice President for Policy and Deputy Counsel CJ Szafir writing in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: The law was passed because, as Darling put it, “(MPS has) blocked reforms over the [...]
CBS 58 in Milwaukee covered the USDOJ investigation that uncovered absolutely no wrongdoing by schools participating in Milwaukee’s Parental School Choice Program. The US Department of [...]
Collin Roth at RightWisconsin exposes the school choice political football that five Wisconsin Democrats like to kick around: “In 2014, Pocan said the complaints the DOJ was looking [...]
Act 10 litigation continues… WILL associate counsel Tom Kamenick said no decision has been made about an appeal. “We are disappointed in the ruling,” Kamenick said, adding that [...]
Prosecutors in the now-defunct John Doe investigation are asking a federal judge to intervene in the long-running saga (again). WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg isn’t so [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg writing at RightWisconsin explains why – despite the wishes and ill-informed pundits’ opinions – the unconstitutional John Doe [...]
At RightWisconsin, they listed the conservative groups that have most impacted the conservative movement in 2015. Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty was honored to be among the groups [...]
WILL Senior Fellow Mario Loyola writing in National Review: Since it fell into GOP hands, the House of Representatives has voted more than 50 times to repeal Obamacare, in whole or in part. The [...]
WILL Associate Counsel Tom Kamenick discusses the likelihood that MMSD contracting policies are illegal. Tom Kamenick, an attorney with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, reviewed both [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg discusses the likelihood of US Supreme Court review of any appeal of recent John Doe rulings by prosecutors. Beyond that, the U.S. Supreme Court [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg sat down with Fox6Now’s Theo Keith after the Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to reconsider it’s July ruling shutting down the John Doe [...]
Education Policy Director and Associate Counsel, CJ Szafir, discusses how MPS continues to stand in its own schoolhouse doors, blocking educational opportunities for Milwaukee’s children [...]
M.D. Kittle gets WILL’s Rick Esenberg’s take on her lawsuit: Constitutional law expert Rick Esenberg noted Abrahamson is six years into her latest 10-year term. If she would have [...]
From the Racine Journal-Times: RACINE — Threatened with a lawsuit, the Racine Unified School District has agreed to stop charging a $300 fee to bus late-enrolling private school students this [...]
From the Racine Journal-Times: RACINE COUNTY — A conservative legal group is again threatening to sue the Racine Unified School District over busing issues, this time regarding fees charged to [...]
Rick Esenberg writing at RightWisconsin.com. “These problems may have warranted caution, but it got worse. The GAB and prosecutors tried to do something that I am not sure anyone ever has. [...]
Rick Esenberg talked with WUWM radio in Milwaukee. Rick Esenberg is president of Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty, a conservative public interest law firm based in Milwaukee. He says the [...]
From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, said the state Supreme Court decision makes clear candidates and issue [...]
From Wisconsin Watchdog: “That reading of the statute doesn’t make any sense,” said C.J. Szafir, associate counsel and education policy director at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. [...]
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg writing at RightWisconsin today: In one of the most ringing passages in our constitutional jurisprudence, Justice Robert Jackson observed, “If [...]
From Wisconsin Watchdog: “I have a problem with the notion that people who put out public pronouncements about legislation should be subject to regulatory requirements,” said constitutional law [...]
WILL President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg, joined Matt Rothschild of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and Mark Pitsch and Phil Brinkman both with the Wisconsin State Journal, to discuss [...]
““He said that he has been getting beat up by these attorneys and felt really beat up by Esenberg,” Falk wrote, apparently a reference to Rick Esenberg of the Wisconsin Institute for Law [...]
“The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which has been critical of the district’s handling of its vacant buildings, criticized Driver’s letter as an attempt [...]
“Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty, said it’s typically easy to guess which groups or individuals contribute to issue advocacy groups on [...]
“Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, said Bradley worked in Milwaukee’s children’s court dealing with issues such as parental rights and [...]
“Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, lauded the contribution limit increase because it empowers candidates rather than outside groups. “The [...]
Education Week | State Law Forces Milwaukee to Put Vacant Schools Up for Sale An issue where WILL lead the way to reform: “The Milwaukee school system will put all its vacant and surplus [...]
Act 10 Was Worth the Price Cameron Sholty, WILL’s Communications Director, explains why Act 10 was worth the price in a piece that appeared on RightWisconsin during National Employee [...]
The School Choice Myth That Won’t Die The myth that there’s no evidence that school choice works has more lives than Dracula. Worse, it’s often repeated by people who should know better, [...]
MPS submits inventory of empty buildings for possible sale Because of a new Republican-led state law forcing Milwaukee Public Schools to sell its empty buildings, the district has submitted a [...]
WILL Economist Marty Lueken and Dr. James V. Shuls appear in the Janesville Gazette explaining that research shows that school vouchers do, indeed, benefit students. Research Shows Vouchers Do [...]
WILL President Rick Esenberg blogging at Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel | Schools are not underfunded and they sold their local control “Here is a fact that the legacy media seems allergic to: [...]
Opposite Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s Matt Rothschild, Rick Esenberg joined Joy Cardin on Wisconsin Public Radio to discuss the Week in Review. You can listen here.
Marshfield News-Herald | Wisconsin Openness Laws Evolve from Wood, Candle Days Attorney Brad Schimel: “‘Messing with open government laws is like touching the third rail,’ he [...]
Mike Wittenwyler administrative and regulatory attorney at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., and the lead attorney in the firm’s Political Law Group; Donald Downs, UW-Madison Professor, Dept. of [...]
Wisconsin State Journal | Advocates: Open Records Law Can Adapt to Changing Technology Without Overhaul More coverage of WILL’s efforts on Open Government. “Rick Esenberg, attorney [...]
WILL Associate Counsel Tom Kamenick joins Jerry Bader on air on WTAQ to discuss the City of Green Bay’s destruction of a garden and it’s disregard for Fourth Amendment rights.
Rick Esenberg blogs at Shark and Shepherd: What Was Wrong With the Doe “While Democrats are decrying the state Supreme Court decision, they ought to be relieved. It would have been short [...]
Rick Esenberg | Why the Conservative Justices Didn’t Have to Recuse Themselves in the John Doe “So for a Justice to be “biased” in favor of Club for Growth or the Greater [...]
WTMJ4 | Court Upholds Milwaukee Residency Requirements By The Associated Press. CREATED Jul 21, 2015 – UPDATED: Jul 21, 2015 MADISON — A state appeals court says Milwaukee’s [...]
Isthmus | Supremes: Destroy Records of John Doe Probe “‘But Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, defends the [...]
Green Bay Press Gazette | Green Bay Sued Over Cutting Natural Plantings “Kamenick said the Gerhards aren’t challenging the city’s right to set standards for residential yards, but take [...]
Websites like Air-BNB and VRBO allow users to rent out their home on a short-term basis. This gives travelers an alternative to hotels – alternatives that might be cheaper, more convenient, or [...]
Tax Incremental Financing (“TIF”) Districts cost the government revenue and grant special treatment to a favored class of taxpayers, all in the hope of spurring development that might [...]
Not all of our fights are of earth-shattering importance. Sometimes it’s just about standing up for the little guy. Today, Associate Counsel Tom Kamenick tried a case in Milwaukee municipal [...]
Last night, the Madison common council rejected, on an 11-9 vote, a proposal by Mayor Paul Soglin to require city contractors to disclose some political donations. The proposal would have [...]
The tale of the Wisconsin Supreme Court as sharply divided and contentious is well known. There is certainly some truth to the story, but the cause of – or, if you prefer, “blame” for – the [...]
Last night, the Milwaukee Area Technical College District Board voted, 5-3, to approve a new contract with AFT-Local 212 for full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and paraprofessionals. The [...]
Before oral arguments this morning, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court selected, by random drawing, the four court of appeals judges who will sit on a committee to [...]
Today, two WILL attorneys, Tom Kamenick and CJ Szafir, attended a candidate forum at the Milwaukee Bar Association featuring the three candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The candidates, [...]
Open record requests are a staple of our democratic principles as they help ensure an informed electorate and transparent government. Unfortunately, when government entities get open records [...]
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals acted yesterday to protect property owners’ rights to receive full and just compensation when government takes their land with eminent domain. Eminent domain is [...]
According to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison is considering requiring all food cart vendors to offer “vegetarian menu items.” Madison currently licenses 48 food carts, many of [...]
Canada’s Fraser Institute has just released its 2012 Report on Economic Freedom across the world. In the words of the Institute itself: “The United States, long considered a champion of economic [...]
The New York Times has an article that shows the unintended consequences and high costs of government policy that is designed to fool the voters. Many politicians believe that it is important to [...]
Kudos to Milwaukee County Supervisor Chris Abele for vetoing the Milwaukee County Board’s attempt to put a referendum on the ballot calling for an end to corporate personhood. The 14 [...]
Eugene Volokh at the Volokh Conspiracy shares this story about the ACLU of Connecticut defending the right of a high school student to wear an anti-gay marriage t-shirt to school. The high [...]
The Sheboygan Press recently reported on the growth of the food truck business in Sheboygan – and city government’s predictable reaction to a popular new business model. The article features [...]
State v. Dinkins – Can a homeless sex offender be criminally charged for failing to provide his address for the sex offender registry when being released from prison? The supreme court says no. [...]
On March 21, 2012 the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (No. 10-1062). Over the government’s objections, the Court unanimously held that property [...]
In a unanimous opinion by Chief Justice Abrahamson, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided that a man convicted of misdemeanor theft and sentenced to one day in jail should get another chance to [...]
One of the many casualties of the 2008 securities market collapse was Ambac Assurance Corp., a firm involved with those complex transactions we hear so much about – CDO’s, debt swaps, [...]
In a 5-2 decision authored by Justice Ziegler, the Wisconsin Supreme Court determined that a homeowner’s insurance policy excluded coverage for bat guano, because damage from such a substance was [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court released one new opinion last week – MBS-Certified Public Accountants, LLC v. Wisconsin Bell Inc. d/b/a AT & T Wisconsin, authored by Justice Bradley. This case [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court released one new opinion last week – Zwiefelhofer v. Town of Cooks Valley, authored by Chief Justice Abrahamson. In Zwiefelhofer, the court was tasked with determining [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court released three new opinions last week, including its first non-unanimous opinion of the 2011-12 term. The first two are fairly unremarkable cases. In Olson v. Farrar, [...]
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