Prison chief rejects visit by Shilling, Schultz

[a kennedy]

Meeting with state prison officers to discuss work conditions has proved difficult for a pair of Wisconsin state senators.

Sens. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, and Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, requested a tour of the Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution, a medium-security facility designed to hold about 300 prisoners in southwestern Wisconsin.

“We had hoped to have the senators visit the facility, interact with (staff), and talk with them about workplace safety and working conditions and any other concerns they might have,” said Tony Palese, an aide to Shilling.

But last week, Department of Corrections Secretary Edward Wall rejected that request due to the “political” nature of the event, Palese said.

“I’m not sure what qualifies as a political event according to DOC regulations,” Palese said. “There is no way that this visit could have been construed as a campaign event. Sen. Shilling and Sen. Schultz had hoped to learn more about the operation of our correctional facilities and the challenges facing the men and women who work there every day.”

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/prison-chief-rejects-visit-by-shilling-schultz/article_a37fec70-a3f2-11e2-af94-0019bb2963f4.html

[Scuba]

1. Wall was appointed by Scott Walker. He's already famous for threatening State employees ...

... before he was even confirmed for his post.



http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/wisconsin/wisconsin-department-of-corrections-secretary-ed-wall-warns-workers-about-rumors

MADISON (AP) - Wisconsin Corrections Secretary Ed Wall warned department employees that they could be fired for spreading "false or malicious information" about the department, an email obtained by The Associated Press shows.

The message, which was forwarded to the AP by an employee and verified by the Corrections Department as being authentic, was sent by Wall on Monday, the day before the state Senate approved his appointment to the post. He followed up with an email on Thursday telling workers he wants to treat the agency more like a family and "less like a bureaucratic coffee grinder."

..

"It's unfortunate that the secretary of a major department uses intimidation and threats in communicating with his employees," Beil said. "You can't run a modern state agency by iron fists and threats and intimidation."

Wall wrote in the Monday email that he was disturbed by baseless rumors that the 10,000-employee agency may be opening a new prison or privatizing operations. He said those rumors are baseless and warned "people who are involved in spreading that rumor should stop immediately."

Now Wall is trying to keep our elected representative from observing conditions and interacting with State staff. Typical for a Walker thug.

[dembotoz]

2. not good news

[denverbill]

3. The Senators were from opposite parties. How could that have been political?

[reteachinwi]

4. Perhaps too much PR would make this an issue.

Andrew Phillips, a Mequon-based attorney whose firm does legal work for several dozen Wisconsin counties, has advised county officials around the state to revoke jail employees’ protective status, to save money and conform to the letter of the law.

When their protective status classification is taken away, jailers lose most collective bargaining rights and may be required, like other public workers, to pay substantially more toward their pensions.

http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2013/04/14/jailers-get-downgraded-fight-back/

[midnight]

5. K&R