Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's press releases and special reports cover issues central to our mission, including campaign fundraising, political corruption and more.
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November 3, 2017
Backed by powerful business and rightwing ideological interests, the state Assembly approved a bill Thursday to end Wisconsin’s ban on mining gold, silver, copper and other precious metals, despite longtime concerns about water pollution.
by Matthew Rothschild, Executive Director
October 31, 2017
When Scott Walker announced his reelection campaign team today, it was like an invitation to a reunion for some of the players in the John Doe II Scandal.
October 30, 2017
A bill that is slated to be voted on in the Wisconsin Assembly this week would let anyone go hunting, no matter how young. That bill, AB 455, is supported by the powerful gun lobby.
October 27, 2017
The decision this week by the DNR’s policy board to open up a huge forest up north to all-terrain vehicles is a victory for Polaris, the Wisconsin ATV/UTV Association (WATVA), and all-terrain-vehicle enthusiasts.
October 25, 2017
Once again, Republicans in the Legislature are trying to take power away from local governments.
October 20, 2017
This week, the DNR caved to the Dairy Business Association, one of the most powerful special interest groups in the state.
October 19, 2017
Testimony prepared in opposition to Senate Bills 303, 304 and 305. You can read WDC testimony against the Assembly's companion bill here.
October 17, 2017
Two of the most powerful industry groups in Wisconsin are in a spat over “America’s Dairyland.”
October 16, 2017
October 12, 2017
At an executive session of the Assembly Committee on Judiciary on Oct. 12, in a rare bipartisan effort, legislators amended the so-called “riot bill” to fix some of the problems that the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the ACLU of Wisconsin, and Democratic lawmakers had drawn attention to at the public hearing on the bill back on Sept. 21.
October 12, 2017
A bill that would once again allow Wisconsin farmers to grow hemp is moving along in the legislature, but GOP Gov. Scott Walker said he has concerns about signing it into law.
October 10, 2017
A new group that says it supports policies to protect the state’s waters appears to be a front group with ties to powerful business, agriculture and manufacturing interests.
October 9, 2017
Republican Gov. Scott Walker accepted about $63,300 in campaign contributions since January 2010 from for-profit college owners and employees before eliminating a state agency that oversaw the controversial industry.
October 5, 2017
Doctors and the state’s largest business group are at odds over proposed changes to the state worker’s compensation law.
October 4, 2017
The mass shooting in Las Vegas has once again propelled the gun control debate to center stage at the federal and state levels where pro-gun advocates have used lobbying and campaign contributions to move their agenda.
October 4, 2017
A bill to allow Tesla Motors to open dealerships to sell and service its electric cars in Wisconsin was proposed Wednesday by GOP lawmakers.
October 3, 2017
A GOP legislative proposal would allow thousands of acres of Wisconsin wetlands to be developed without state scrutiny.
September 28, 2018
Republican Gov. Scott Walker and Vice President Mike Pence plan to be in Waukesha today to visit a large Walker donor and promote overhauling the nation's tax code.
September 27, 2017
Assembly Democrats are sponsoring a bill that would spend $304,100 to pay for five additional full-time staff positions at the state’s elections watchdog.
September 26, 2017
A former northern Wisconsin Republican lawmaker was appointed as the next head of the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), drawing praise from the state’s largest business group.
September 25, 2017
A former Republican Assembly representative whom the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign accused of violating state campaign finance law was named Monday to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
September 25, 2017
September 21, 2017
(Testimony in opposition to Assembly Bill 395 which makes it a felony to participate in a ‘riot’ defined as any gathering of three or more people where it “is reasonable to believe that the assembly will cause injury to persons or damage to property unless it is immediately dispersed.”)
September 20, 2017
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is behind a bill that would allow adults to carry concealed weapons in Wisconsin without a permit or training.
September 14, 2017
Individuals with Wisconsin zip code addresses who contributed $100 or more a year to partisan legislative and statewide candidates doled out about $136.4 million between 2003 and 2016, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign review found. About $86.3 million, or 63 percent, of those large individual contributions went to Republican candidates and about $50.1 million, or 37 percent, of the contributions went to Democrats.