Citizen Action Weekend
Citizen Action Weekend, Friday, January 20th

Citizen Action Weekend, Friday, January 20th

RSVP for 2023 State Budget Watch Party, February 15th, 6:30pm.

On Wednesday, February 15th, Governor Tony Evers will address the public and the state legislature with his vision for Wisconsin via his bi-annual budget address. Watch this address with like minded folks to cheer on and gently critique the Governor.

Regressive Robin Vos will roll his eyes and we will provide a Vos eye roll tracker to help gauge the number of backwards ideas we will likely see coming from that side of the chamber this year.

The program starts at 6:30 PM with a chance for any questions about the state budget process before the Governor begins at 7 PM. There will be a virtual option and an in person option at our Milwaukee office

When: February 15th
Where: 4716 West Vliet St. Milwaukee Or virtual
When: 6:30 PM

Virtual information will be sent to your email after sign up.

Attend Citizen Action Healthcare for All Co-op Monthly Meeting.

Join us Wednesday, January 25th @7PM to get the latest information on the healthcare scene in Wisconsin.

We will update you on the upcoming BadgerCare Expansion fight and talk about a few exciting resources we have to help with medical debt or an insurance claim denial. We will provide an update on the Ascension hospital situation that is unearthing new shocking developments almost daily.

We also want to introduce Brandon Williford, Citizen Action’s new Healthcare for All Co-op organizer at the meeting.

In addition, this month we will feature Dr. Lynn Carey and her story and how she became an activist and advocate for good healthcare policy.

We look forward to seeing you!  Sign up!

Robert Spindell should resign or be removed from the Wisconsin Election Commission.

Democratic lawmakers are calling on the leader of the state Senate, Devin LeMahieu, to remove his appointed member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Robert Spindell, over comments praising GOP campaign efforts that he said discouraged Black voter turnout in Milwaukee.

Contact Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and tell him to rescind his appointment of Spindell to the commission >> [email protected] or (608) 266-2056

Governor Evers Budget Listening Session in Eau Claire draws Citizen Action members.

Members of Citizen Action’s Northwestern Organizing Co-op attended Governor Evers’ Budget Listening Session in Eau Claire on January 18th to advocate for Badgercare Expansion, more shared revenue for local governments, early childhood programs, climate action, access to health care in rural areas, public education, and more.

State Rep. Jodi Emerson and State Sen. Jeff Smith were both on hand to welcome the Governor, and listen.

The Governor’s office can be easily contacted about the budget, or any subject, via this online form.

TAKE ACTION & SIGN HERE to support Citizen Action’s progressive priorities in the 2023-25 State Budget.

Winter Party held in Eau Claire to kick off a new year of organizing.

Citizen Action’s Northwestern Wisconsin Organizing Co-op worked with JONAH and other grassroots justice groups from the Eau Claire area to co-host a Winter Party on January 19th, to usher in a new year of organizing as the state budget season begins, and the Spring Election races take shape.

Held in Eau Claire at the newly-renovated L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, the informal social gathering was meant to help people from different groups meet each other, and enjoy treats and warm drinks, after nearly a half foot of snow landed upon the region earlier in the day.

State Senator Jeff Smith shared his thoughts on the need to organize, especially in northern Wisconsin, where now he is the most northern Democratic member of the State Senate.

Citizen Action North Side Rising Co-op Member Feature: Yolanda Thomas 

You can describe Yolanda Thomas as knowledgeable, professional and committed.

She has shared her expertise as an employee of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development as an abatement official, into the process of Green building investment.

Here, she’s pictured with Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

She also spoke with WI Senator  LaTanya Johnson on the topic of Wisconsin Health Care.

Listen to the show.

To get involved in North Side Rising contact: [email protected]

Citizen Action North Central Co-op Climate Action Team Updates.

For over a year, the North Central Climate Action Team, and supporters have been following the Wausau Sustainability, Energy and Environment Committee. When they first started, the committee was in the process of working on a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Resolution. Members of the Climate Action Team were aware of two cities in Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Menominee, that had committed to and developed Climate Action Plans, committing to using 100% renewable energy by the year 2050.

Citizen Action members and friends began advocating that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Resolution include some language about working toward or committing to a Climate Action Plan. The committee has completed their drafts, and the resolution is now before the City’s legal department for review. The belief is that it will be moving to the Public Health and Safety Committee next, and then back to the full Council. Citizen Action members were there when the resolution was first presented to the City, and it seemed to be well received.

Back in June, members of Citizen Action, along with some local electeds and community leaders, came together to talk about this resolution, the processes involved to get it moving toward the full Council, and to commit to advocating for this when the time is right. That time is now approaching. Next week, a select group of people supporting these efforts, will come together to practice speaking to the City Council or other governmental entities. They will also be prepared to help others do the same.

We are at capacity for that meeting already, however, if you would like to be a part of this work, reach out to Organizer Joel Lewis, at [email protected] or call him at 715-551-2525. Also, if you are a City of Wausau resident, please sign this petition and share it with others! Lastly, you can hear Joel speaking on this work on Bull Falls Radio on Friday, 1/20/2023 at 2:15 pm. If you are near the Wausau area, you can tune in to 98.9 fm. If you miss it, you can find it later here!

DONATE today to Citizen Action’s 2023 Supreme Court Action Fund.

Citizen Action launched our NEW 2023 Supreme Court Action Fund late last year, and the support from our members has been tremendous. We need you to donate NOW to this special fund that supports our “Deep Canvass” Field Program, which talks one-on-one with the targeted voters who will decide the election.

Eyes are on Ascension and their staff cutting. 

If you have been following local Milwaukee news lately, you may have noticed a plethora of very concerning stories coming out about the Ascension hospitals in the area. St. Mary’s on the East side and undoubtedly the crown jewel of their system, has had to stop all elective surgeries because of unsafe conditions and practices. In addition, they have quietly closed down some essential services at St. Joseph’s hospital on the North side and now abruptly closed the labor and delivery unit at St. Francis hospital on the South side.  The residents there have no close options for their delivery care. It’s worth noting that Ascension employs a health equity officer while at the same time they are decimating and slowly dismantling the hospitals that serve BIPOC communities. The irony is deep and it shows that any real health equity support is a facade.

We stand with the nurses who were abruptly notified the week before Christmas that their department is closed.  We stand with the community who will have lives endangered as they make longer drives to receive the care they need. Please know that even before the pandemic this systematic degradation and dismantling had begun. Do not believe slick hospital PR blaming the labor shortage or Covid. They are sitting on an 18 billion is cash reserves and an even bigger investment portfolio.  The Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health professionals are leading the fight but we are strongly supporting them and we urge you to do the same.

Please follow the facebook group to keep up to date on next steps and ways to be involved.

Citizen Action in the News.

Citizen Action Robert Kraig was on the Earl Ingram Show (which is broadcast from 8 to 11 AM on the new progressive Civic Radio network in Wisconsin), to discuss how Governor Evers can win state budget advances and back down the GOP if he uses his full constitutional power.

Robert appears every Wednesday at 10 AM on Earl’s show.

Listen to this week’s hour-long interview here.

Listen to “Gerrymandered Legislature off the rails in first week” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast.

We are joined by State Senator Jeff Smith to discuss the first week of the gerrymandered State Legislature. Seeking to influence the State Supreme Court race. The session opened by placing on the Spring ballot a cynical political referendum asking voter opinion on a BadgerCare work requirement and a constitutional amendment on cash bail. The top priority of this illegitimate Legislature appears to be more tax giveaways for the ultra rich. Sen. Smith tells us why he is leading the charge to oppose the Republican attack on Wisconsin’s progressive income tax. We also talk about state budget strategy,rural broadband, and the deepening bi-partisan public concern over PFAS in our water. Eau Claire City Council member and Citizen Action Organizing Director Kate Felton joins us to discuss her effort to organize local leaders in Western Wisconsin to fight for desperately needed increases in state shared revenue to municipalities during the upcoming state budget fight.

Listen to the show.

Social media post of the week.

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