Citizen Action Weekend 2025 Newsletter, Friday, May 16th
Join Citizen Action Today!
Attend Capitol Lobby Day, Tuesday, May 27th
I hope you will join us for our 2nd Citizen Action Capitol Lobby Day of 2025 on Tuesday, May 27th.
As the debate over Wisconsin’s two year budget reaches its climax, we have an opportunity to win major breakthroughs on the most pressing issues.
I am thrilled to announce that our Lobby Day now has co-sponsors! We are partnering with Wisconsin Public Education Network and WISDOM. In addition, we are adding a media event urging Governor Tony Evers to use his most powerful in the nation veto by publicly declaring that he will veto any state budget from the Legislature that does not include proper funding for public education, BadgerCare expansion, child care funding, and no new prisons.
With a closer partisan balance in the Legislature than we have had in over a decade, and the Governorship in the balance in the 2026 elections, this is our best chance in years to finally win on BadgerCare Expansion, fair state funding for our public schools, child care, and advances in criminal justice reform.
Our message to lawmakers and the Governor on the lobby day will be that it is time to Stand and Fight. As we have seen in the growing resistance to the un-constitutional crime spree of the Trump Regime, the democratic grassroots is demanding that our lawmakers fight. This equally applies to all state elected officials who believe in democracy and popular rule. Usurpers of democracy are using every lever of power they can get their hands on, to win its defenders must do the same.
We can’t do it without Citizen Action members from around the state! At the lobby day you will have the opportunity to convey this message to your individual State Representatives and State Senators. In addition, we are planning a joint rally with advocates for public education, criminal justice reform, and child care.
We will have transportation and carpooling options available from the cities where Citizen Action Organizing Co-ops are centered, Milwaukee (bus), La Crosse (bus), Eau Claire (bus), Wausau (car pooling), and Green Bay/Appleton (car pooling).
Please register here and an organizer will contact you with logistics and to answer your questions.
In Peace & Solidarity, Robert Kraig, Executive Director
Please share flyers below.
Attend Meet n’ Greet with NEW Citizen Action Northeast Coop Organizer, Garnet De Grave, Thursday, May 29th, 6pm in Green Bay.
For more information about the event and how you can get involved in the event or our organizing in the Green Bay Fox Valley area, contact: g.degrave@citizenactionwi.org
Southeast Wisconsin Organizing Spotlight: Fighting for Healthcare Justice Together
Medicaid Town Hall Recap: Community Power in Action
This past week, Southeast Wisconsin Co-op members came together for a powerful Medicaid Town Hall, where residents shared personal stories about the life-or-death importance of public healthcare access.
We heard from community leaders, organizers, and healthcare advocates who laid out what’s at stake if the proposed Medicaid cuts go through.
These cuts would threaten the health and dignity of thousands of Wisconsinites. But our community is rising up. From Racine to Milwaukee, voices united to say loud and clear: Healthcare is a human right.
Our Town Hall wasn’t just informative—it was energizing. We left with a stronger sense of solidarity and an even deeper commitment to push forward meaningful change. Thank you to everyone who attended, shared their story, or brought a friend.
Call your member of Congress today
Capitol Lobby Day – May 27
Our next big step? Citizen Action’s Capitol Lobby Day on Monday, May 27. This is your chance to meet face-to-face with legislators in Madison and demand real investments in healthcare, climate justice, and economic equity.
We’ll be organizing a bus from our office at 8 am, and we need you there. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to get more involved—this is it. Stay tuned for logistics and sign-up info, or reach out to your Co-op organizer to get plugged in.
Meet & Greet – Tuesday, June 3
Want to get more involved with Citizen Action’s Southeast Co-op? Curious about what we’re building in Milwaukee and beyond? Join us for an informal Meet & Greet on:
📍 Tuesday, June 3rd at 6 PM
📍 4716 W Vliet Street, Milwaukee
📝 RSVP here: Click to RSVP
This is a great opportunity to meet other members, connect with organizers, and learn more about the work we’re doing together to build a more just Wisconsin.
Citizen Action Driftless Organizing Coop Update
Come Canvass with us tomorrow, Saturday, May 17th, 10am. I was fortunate enough to lead a breakout session on healthcare at the Fighting Oligarchy rally last Saturday. There were a lot of great orgs involved that do awesome work including but not limited to For Our Future, Fighting Oligarchy, SEIU, and Our WI Revolution!
Together we will be launching a canvass tomorrow – Saturday, May 17th at 10:00am to have conversations with folks around affordable healthcare in WI and potential Medicaid cuts.
This is not a partisan issue and almost everyone is or loves someone who will be damaged by Medicaid cuts. It is critical to reach out to these folks to let them know how they can lobby their legislators.
If you can take an hour or two of your Saturday – Please sign up to canvass this Saturday! It will start at 10am at 2318 State Rd. Training will be available. RSVP or just show up!
Several Citizen Action of WI members including Driftless Members Khadijah Islam and Rep. Tara Johnson spoke at the Fighting Oligarchy coalition rally last Saturday!
Capitol Lobby Day – Join us on May 27th for Lobby Day in Madison where we will be talking with our state representatives and Gov. Evers about BadgerCare Expansion, Federal Medicaid cuts, Climate Accountability and more!
We will be taking a bus from La Crosse with a stop in Tomah to pick folks up! Citizen Action will provide food and coffee in the am as well as lunch at the Capital.
This is a great event – please sign up and encourage friends to join us!
You don’t need to be a policy expert! You just need to care about affordable healthcare and/or climate issues and a desire to make a real difference!
RSVP for Lobby Day
Healthcare Action Team Meeting – June 16th at 6PM – in person (location tbd) and on zoom) Watch your email for upcoming actions in the Driftless. Things are changing quickly based on votes happening in DC.
In solidarity, Kristie Tweed; Driftless Co-Op Organizer, 608-317-1331 or kristie.tweed@citizenactionwi.org
Citizen Action North Central Organizing Coop Healthcare and Climate Leader Search
The North Central Organizing co-op is in the process of forming a regional Healthcare Action Team. The purpose will be to advocate for more affordable healthcare, prescription drugs, protecting and strengthening BadgerCare and more. Actions could be taken (most recently, members spoke at Joint Finance Committee hearings in Wausau and across the State) locally, regionally and/or at the state level. We could use a couple more members to complete this team. If you live in Portage County or North, we might have a place for you!
Please contact Organizer, Joel Lewis at 715-551-2525 or joel.lewis@citizenactionwi.org
The NC Organizing Co-op also has a regional Climate Action Team and is in the process of creating a Movement Politics Action Team (recruits and supports candidates aligned with the CAW Platform). Space is more limited on these teams, but if you are interested, please mention it.
Citizen Action in the News
New Citizen Action Northeast Wisconsin Organizer Gloria DeGrave was quoted in a Spectrum News 1 article on the consequences of proposed federal Medicaid cuts.
Gloria DeGrave, with Citizen Action Wisconsin, said these cuts could also impact the 871,858 Wisconsinites enrolled in the state-run Medicaid program BadgerCare.
“The majority of the people on BadgerCare are children. So, what you’re talking about is taking away health care from children that is going to affect them for the rest of their lives,” DeGrave said.
About 480,00 children are enrolled in BadgerCare, she said.
Degrave said Medicaid provides health insurance to one-fifth of Wisconsin families, and any cuts would be devastating.
“We’re looking at thousands and thousands and thousands of people losing access to health care. What that means is that they’re going to lose access to monitoring their chronic conditions,” DeGrave said.
Listen to “Childcare providers lead the way” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
We welcome Citizen Action member and child care provider Julia Bennker back to the show to discuss this week’s “strike” and actions at the Capitol by child care providers demanding the Legislature restore $480 million in funding. We hear first hand how the Legislature is failing parents and child care workers and how you can support the effort to fund child care in the state budget.
Big news this week in Congress as House Republicans unveiled their budget which drastically cuts Medicaid to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Robert gives us the details on how the GOP’s plan will take healthcare away coverage from nearly 14 million Americans, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
As we reported last week, the House Republican budget will not cut direct state matching funds such as the increased match for ACA Medicaid Expansion, allowing Wisconsin to finally accept the federal money to Expand BadgerCare. Even more, we now know the House budget also sunsets an extra 5% state match for states that Expand Medicaid before January 1, 2026. This means Wisconsin only gets the bonus match (which lasts two years) if it expands Medicaid in this new budget, making it an imperative that Evers veto any Legislative budget that fails to Expand BadgerCare.
Robert also updates us on the latest in the Judge Hannah Dugan case which raises serious issues critical to retaining a constitutional democracy.
Listen to the show.
Social media post of the week
