September 14, 2016

A host of groups representing Wisconsin’s agriculture industry wants federal environmental watchdogs to pull back on tougher atrazine rules.

September 13, 2016

When Wisconsin Supreme Court heard arguments last Friday in a case against the city of Madison’s gun ban on city buses, one of the justices was in a compromised position. Michael Gableman, who did not recuse himself in the case, had received nearly $76,000 in outside campaign support and contributions from pro-gun groups.

September 13, 2016

Two GOP lawmakers who organized a pro-wolf hunting event received about $4,200 in campaign contributions that were funneled through a group that supports wolf hunting.

September 12, 2016

Enbridge Energy, one of the owners of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, is considering expanding another pipeline that transports heavy crude from Superior, Wis., to refineries in Chicago.

September 6, 2016

The cost of food, drinks, and invitations provided by wealthy donors for candidate fundraisers that they hold in their homes are no longer campaign contributions to the candidates under the state’s new campaign finance laws.

September 1, 2016

Today, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign filed a formal ethics complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Rep. Dean Knudson (R-Hudson), who set up his own express advocacy PAC while in office.

August 30, 2016

Big business and conservative ideological groups got a big return on their investments in the 2015-16 legislative session.

August 25, 2016

On Thursday, August 25, the Direct Supply company in Milwaukee was awarded $22.5 million in tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Governor Scott Walker was there to applaud the company for the expansion of its headquarters.

August 25, 2016

None of the Wisconsin individuals publicly identified with a new group created to build support for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump have contributed to Trump through at least July, federal records show.

August 24, 2016

Members of a new partisan commission that enforces the state’s campaign finance and ethics laws may continue to make contributions to Wisconsin political candidates, who they are responsible for investigating and disciplining for ethics and campaign finance violations.

August 23, 2016

The owners of large vegetable-growing farms ramped up their campaign contributions to legislative committees during the first six months of 2016 when lawmakers considered controversial well water bills they favored.

August 18, 2016

Nearly all of the 19 large companies listed in a state report for receiving about $470 million in state aid to reduce their taxes are also generous campaign contributors.

August 17, 2016

The owners of the Kwik Trip convenience store chain and the founder of Logistics Health held a $2,700-per person fundraiser Tuesday in La Crosse for GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

August 16, 2016

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reject an appeal of a state John Doe investigation into coordination between special interests groups and Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign during the 2011 and 2012 recalls.

August 15, 2016

Legislative and statewide officeholders and candidates collected about $251,000 more from individual donors during the first six months of 2016 due to higher campaign contribution limits effective in January.

August 12, 2016

Legislative and statewide officeholders and candidates provided little or no useful information that the public could use to identify the economic interests of wealthy campaign contributors behind nearly half the $5.3 million in total individual contributions they accepted in the first half of 2016.

August 10, 2016

Two Republican fundraising committees accepted $2,000 in political action committee contributions from AquaAmerica, the Pennsylvania-based company that wanted GOP legislators to pass a controversial bill that would have made it easier for AquaAmerica and other private companies to buy up public water utilities.

August 9, 2016

The Forest County Potawatomi Community contributed more than $70,000 to legislative fundraising committees and candidates during the first seven months of 2016 – sharply more than in the previous six years combined, campaign finance reports show.

August 8, 2016

Corporations, which were banned for more than 100 years from giving to political parties or committees, gave a total of $297,850 to the two state parties and the four legislative campaign committees in the first four months of the year. (See table below for total listing.)

August 4, 2016

The state’s Natural Resources Board approved scaled-back rule-making plans Wednesday to protect drinking water from farm manure after objections to potentially tougher rules by the state’s agriculture industry.

August 3, 2016

A national hardware store chain owned by a billionaire businessman who set consecutive records for the highest penalties ever paid for environmental violations in Wisconsin just won an environmental award from the state’s largest business group.

August 3, 2016

Scott Jensen, the disgraced former Speaker of the Assembly, appears to be throwing his weight around in the primary race for the 18th state senate seat.

August 2, 2016

Some of the state’s billionaires and millionaires featured in recent stories by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for paying little or no state income taxes are also generous contributors to legislative and statewide candidates.

July 28, 2016

Special interest political action committees (PACs) and candidate and party committees contributed nearly $1.9 million mostly to legislative and statewide officeholders during the first six months of 2016, according to the latest campaign finance report filings.

July 27, 2016

Spending in last spring’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race totaled $5.6 million, with outside smear groups sharply outspending the candidates.