WISCONSIN (MacIver Institute) -- Before we get into this week's newsletter, we here at MacIver want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Wausau first responders who helped rescue Tom Tiffany and the pilot of the plane that went down in the water over the weekend. Thanks to their quick response and the skill of the pilot, a terrible situation was avoided.
In other news -- this week's MacIver Monday is packed full of policy recommendations and oversight. From housing reform and a deep dive into Wisconsin's welfare system to potential major changes to election law, this week's newsletter is ready to get your week started on the right foot.
Spotlight
Fixing Wisconsin’s Fragmented Safety Net
Rebecca Draeger’s new research shows what a Racine single mom already knows: FoodShare and Medicaid run through DHS, W-2 and child-care subsidies through DCF, and job training through DWD plus eleven regional workforce boards. She still has to tell the same story to separate caseworkers who do not automatically share what she already provided. The ACCESS portal helps with applications. It is not a one-stop shop for work and benefits.
Most of this split is a statutory choice, not a federal mandate. A 2007 budget bill created the current map. Chapter 49 definitions of “the department” can be amended without touching eligibility or benefit levels. Federal law requires one designated agency for Medicaid, FoodShare, and unemployment insurance—not three separate ones. Draeger’s near-term agenda is concrete: inventory the data-sharing the law already allows and report it to Joint Finance, put an FSET referral and Job Center single sign-on on ACCESS, move the programs state law alone can move in the next budget, and publish shared metrics on processing time, cost per case, and improper payments. Wisconsin does not have to choose between a costly reorganization and leaving a broken maze in place.
Read the full research report here.
Deep Dive
A Simple Housing Fix Immune to Objectors
Michael Lucas argues that Wisconsin’s housing crunch is baked into Euclidean zoning: residential, commercial, and industrial uses are sealed off from one another, so extra land in a commercial or industrial district cannot become apartments without a years-long rezoning fight. Hierarchical zoning flips that. Housing is allowed by right in commercial and industrial zones; commercial uses can sit in industrial zones; factories stay in industrial zones.
That is not a free-for-all. People who choose to live over a shop or next to a plant waive the quiet-and-dark expectations of a residential district, which cuts objector lawsuits at the root. Texas, Montana, California, and others have already moved this way. Lucas’s point for Madison is sharper still: “local control” under the status quo is often a zoning board vetoing someone else’s property. Hierarchical zoning does not force a single owner to build anything. It only limits the government’s power to say no.
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MacIver is on the front lines exposing bloated school spending, broken election processes, and a fragmented welfare system that fails both taxpayers and those it claims to help. While politicians keep expanding government and special interests dig in deeper, we deliver the independent research and unfiltered accountability Wisconsin families need. If you believe in limited government, real election integrity, and free-market solutions that put hardworking people first, please make a contribution today to keep this fight going strong.
Coming Soon
WEC: Green Bay Clerk “Violated” Law, Silent On Possible Charges
Benjamin Yount reports that the Wisconsin Elections Commission found former Green Bay Clerk Celestine Jeffreys violated state law by mailing at least 244—and possibly as many as 390—duplicate absentee ballots before the April election. WEC ordered new chain-of-custody procedures and a post-November report. It said nothing about charges.
You Should Know
A Dane County Case Could Quietly Erase Wisconsin’s Election Deadlines
MacIver Staff warns that Honig v. Wisconsin Elections Commission is not about 23 Madison envelopes that arrived after 8 p.m. Those ballots were already counted. Law Forward is asking Judge Everett Mitchell for a statewide declaration that any election statute can be ignored if an official “errs”—and that every clerk should get that order before November. A published Court of Appeals decision already said polls “shall” close at 8 p.m. An October Dane County order, even if later reversed, can still sit in every clerk’s file on Election Day.
Quick Click
Pessimism Rings In Latest Small Business Survey
Benjamin Yount reports that NFIB’s latest Wisconsin survey shows owners turning more pessimistic: expectations for better conditions fell 5 points to a net 10%, 62% still report supply-chain problems, and inflation and taxes are now tied as the second-biggest issue. State Director Luke Bacher said lawmakers should cut burdens so shops can hire and compete.
For Your Commute
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Last Update: Sep 14, 2026 2:12 pm CDT
