While we still mourn the horrifying attack in Waukesha, it's time to find answers on why long-time criminal Darrel Brooks wasn't still in jail. Unfortunately, he was out on bail after Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm's office refused to keep him locked up.

That's why I joined 15 other area lawmakers demanding that Governor Evers fire John Chisholm. In our letter, we state:

" ...the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office, led by John Chisholm, recommended that Darrell Brooks Jr. be let out of jail with just $1,000 bail. Brooks was released after being arrested on charges of punching the mother of his child and then hitting her with his SUV. Days later, Brooks allegedly used this same SUV to barrel through the Waukesha Christmas Parade, killing 6 and injuring at least 60. Chisholm has since admitted this action by his office was “inappropriate.”

Chisholm has refused to step down after a flood of calls for his resignation. Because of this, we are calling on you to remove John Chisholm as Milwaukee County District Attorney. It is clear to us as legislators and many people from the Waukesha County and Milwaukee County areas affected by the recent tragedy that District Attorney Chisholm has neglected his duty in his office.

Sadly, Chisholm’s reforms on limiting the use of cash bail have failed, and his own 2007 words to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are haunting, “Is there going to be an individual I divert, or I put into [a] treatment program, who’s going to go out and kill somebody? You bet. Guaranteed. It’s guaranteed to happen.” This approach, combined with a lack of transparency from his office, is deeply concerning. Under his leadership, Chisholm has fulfilled his own prophecy – and innocent Wisconsinites have now paid and will continue to pay the price for his actions."

Under Wisconsin law, the governor has the ability to remove district attorneys. If there ever was a case to do just that, it is now. By letting criminals have "get out of jail" free cards time after time, Chisholm is taking a dangerous gamble with people's lives. It's time for him to go.

As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov.

Sexual assault survivors will have access to information about their sexual assault kits. On Monday, Governor Evers signed my bill that will create a Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System.

Wisconsin is joining a nationwide movement to make sure victims of sexual assault can check on the status of their case and know where their kit is located. This is a bipartisan bill that empowers victims and will help prevent another backlog of cases.

Senate Bill 94 empowers survivors of sexual assault as their case goes through the legal system. The bill creates a database for health care professionals, law enforcement, state crime laboratory personnel, and prosecutors to update information on the location and status of a sexual assault kit and ensures that Wisconsin statutes protect victims and prevent another backlog of cases.

Also signed into law this week is Senate Bill 71, authored by Senator Robert Cowles of Green Bay and myself. Before this new law, there was no statutory procedure for the collection and processing of sexual assault kits. That led to a backlog of kits that were not being submitted to the state crime laboratory for testing. Under this bill, if a victim chooses to report an assault to law enforcement, a healthcare professional collecting evidence will notify authorities within 24 hours of collection.

Victims have the right to know if and when their kit is being processed or stored and isn't lost or backlogged. It’s my hope this will give them some comfort during a very difficult time.

Last Friday afternoon when he thought you weren't looking, Governor Evers vetoed an important bill to provide school transparency for parents.

Parents and taxpayers should be able to see where their tax dollars are going and what is being taught in public schools. That's why I co-authored Senate Bill 463. It requires school districts to post course information including bibliographic information, copies of course content created by staff, syllabi, outlines, handouts, and links to adopted curricula to the school district website. There is a growing concern in our nation about what is being taught in taxpayer-funded schools. This bill will make it easier for parents, taxpayers, and concerned citizens to see what our schools are teaching.

Unfortunately, Governor Evers doesn't want you to have access to that information. Instead, he vetoed it on a Friday afternoon. On the same day, Governor Evers vetoed school transparency, other states are seeing encouraging improvement in their reading scores. Too many students in our state are falling behind in reading.

Sixty-four percent of fourth-graders are not proficient in reading. Our state ranks dead-last in reading achievement among black students. Hispanic students dropped from 1st in the nation to 28th while white students fell from 6th to 27th. We need to do better. Unfortunately, that’s another education reform Governor Evers vetoed here in Wisconsin.

The Department of Public Instruction's 2020-21 School Report Cards show the need for reforming education.

Many Wisconsin school districts slipped in the 2020-21 school year compared to 2018-19, according to report card data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The department changed the methodology for report cards this year, allowing schools to meet expectations with lower scores.

Click on the picture to see how your school district is performing. 

As a former teacher, I am extremely concerned about the significant drop in reading and English scores.

As I told the MacIver Institute, our state is facing an educational crisis. We have a reading crisis and a learning crisis and the only solution coming from Governor Evers and DPI is to study it some more. I’m sick of studies. The shelves at DPI are stacked with studies. It’s time for action. Sadly, every bold initiative we have proposed over the last couple of years has been met with strong opposition to protect the status quo. Our kids deserve better and I’m not giving up on them.

This week, America lost a legend. World War 2 hero and statesman Bob Dole passed away at the age of 98. Senator Dole served our nation both in the military and congress for almost four decades.

I had the honor of meeting Senator Dole a few years ago. He was kind and gracious. Thank you for your service, Senator. My prayers are with your wife Elizabeth and your family.

Thank you to all who have requested a 2021-2022 Wisconsin Blue Book. We received our allotment and are fulfilling requests this week.

If you have not yet requested a Blue Book but would like to receive one, please click the picture and we will mail you one at no cost.

If you have previously requested a Blue Book, you should receive the book in the mail within the next 2 weeks. If you do not receive it within that time period, please email our office at Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov with your name and address and we will make sure one gets to you.

Thank you for your patience.

Hunger Task Force is conducting a virtual food drive. Click on the video for more information on how you can help people in need this month.