Aminat Bakare, who has grandsons ages 8 to 19, is looking for programs that could help them.
“I have a lot of grandsons,” Bakare said. “I want to know what’s going on as far as different programs that can help them to stay on the right path.”
She was among residents on hand Wednesday for Milwaukee County’s launch of the Destined for Greater initiative, a collaborative effort to reduce violence.
Milwaukee County officials announced during the event, held at the Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum, they will use $1.5 million in state violence prevention funds to help connect residents in high-need neighborhoods with employment opportunities, housing assistance, mental health support and violence intervention services.
The initiative, overseen by the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, brings together existing violence intervention programs, wellness services and projects funded through the $1.5 million in state funding.
Bakare, who lives on the Northwest Side, said peer pressure is one of the biggest challenges facing her grandsons.
She said she was particularly hopeful the initiative will result in employment opportunities.
“Something that can spark their interest,” she said.
Robert Fisher, 15, attended the event with a mentor from the city’s 414LIFE, a community and hospital-based violence intervention program, to learn about the same opportunities.
Fisher said jobs and opportunities to create things are also hard to come by.
‘This is about peace’
Kenneth Burns talks during the launch event for Destined for Greater on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 in Milwaukee. Destined for Greater is a collaborative effort to improve public safety, support young people and families, and build healthier, more connected communities throughout Milwaukee County. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
Violence prevention workers and community members say the increased state funding could expand services and strengthen partnerships to help improve public safety.
Among the most enthusiastic was Kenneth Burns, a Milwaukee Public Schools student who described the benefits of INPOWER Solutions’ Grow Rich Initiative, which teaches gardening, entrepreneurship and other job-readiness skills. INPOWER is one of several organizations participating in the initiative.
“For me, this is about peace,” Burns said. “Being in the garden gives me a place to slow down, build on something positive.”
Other partners include Milwaukee Turners, Milwaukee Bucks Foundation, Bloom Art and Integrated Therapies, and Community Justice Council.
According to a county press release, the Destined for Greater initiative will reduce community violence by building on the success of existing programs.
The release cited the Advance Peace Fellowship, created in 2024, and the Credible Messenger program, as examples.
The release said 95% of fellows reported no new gun injuries and that 76% of youths who participated in Credible Messenger recently had no referral or offense while in the program.
Moving forward
Attendees applaud during the launch event for Destined for Greater on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 in Milwaukee. Destined for Greater is a collaborative effort to improve public safety, support young people and families, and build healthier, more connected communities throughout Milwaukee County. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
Crowley told NNS the goal of the initiative is to create collaboration in which organizations understand each other’s roles and can connect residents to needed services, even when they cannot provide those services themselves.
Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern told NNS he supports the effort.
“This is good news,” Lovern said. “It is important that this work is community-led.”
Both Bakare and Fisher said they, too, liked what they heard.
“I was very impressed,” Bakare said.
What’s next?
The county and its partners plan to provide regular updates on the implementation and progress of the initiative.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
In a statement, Evers said he was trying to move Wisconsin’s “justice system into the 21st Century by reforming our criminal justice and corrections systems to improve public safety, reduce the likelihood that individuals will reoffend when they enter our communities and save taxpayer dollars in the long run.”
Some supporters of Evers’ decision say people can change after decades in prison and that remaining there no longer serves any beneficial purpose.
Gov. Tony Evers restarted the commutation process in Wisconsin in April. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)
However, critics question whether people convicted of serious violent crimes should ever be released early.
Jones sits at the center of these views.
He was sentenced in 2004 to two consecutive terms of life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
He said he fully acknowledges his crimes, which occurred during an armed tavern robbery in Racine, and continues to have remorse over them.
“No amount of right I have done would ever erase the wrong I have done to my victims and their families, and I understand that perfectly,” Jones said. “I also know that I am a transformed man, and I am rehabilitated.”
Applying for commutation
Jones said he decided to apply for a commutation the moment his wife, Jessica Jones, told him about Evers’ announcement.
There are two commutation tracks: a general commutation process for people convicted as adults and a separate process for some sentenced as juveniles.
Jones, who was 22 when he was sentenced to life and is now 44, qualifies for the first track.
Applicants qualify for this track if they are: incarcerated on a Wisconsin conviction, have more than one year left on their sentence, have served at least half their incarceration term or at least 20 years of a life sentence.
They also cannot be serving sentences for sex offenses, have unresolved criminal charges or warrants, or have committed violent misconduct in prison within the past five years.
Individuals who apply must provide information about the crimes for which they are seeking commutation, prior interactions with law enforcement, prison disciplinary history, rehabilitation efforts, and reentry plans.
Applications also require certified court records as well as letters of support.
“Emotionally, a person has to remain calm,” Jones said. “There is a sense of urgency that will be overwhelming at times.”
He said coming up with a clear plan has been vital to overcoming his panic.
“One box at a time. One task at a time,” he said.
For and against
Nationally, many politicians associated with “tough-on-crime” policies have opposed sentence reductions for people convicted of violent crimes, arguing rehabilitation cannot outweigh the harm caused.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said he would end commutations if elected governor. (Jeffrey Phelps for Wisconsin Watch)
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s gubernatorial campaign told NNS that he would rescind the executive orders that allow murderers, including those serving life sentences, to be released back into the community after 20 years.
“He is making a commitment as governor that he will not release violent criminals early and will ensure victims and their families receive the full measure of justice,” said the Tiffany campaign.
Diego Rodriguez, coalition coordinator forJustice Forward Wisconsin, an advocacy coalition focused on criminal justice reform, said he understands the concerns people have but believes they are based on misunderstandings of the process.
Commutation is far from automatic, he said. The approval process includes multiple reviews, eligibility restrictions and detailed reentry planning requirements.
“These are pretty thorough applications,” Rodriguez said. “If somebody still poses a threat to the community, they’re not going to let them out.”
Shannon Ross, a criminal justice advocate who works with Justice Forward to support the commutation application process, said people in prison who have genuinely transformed often have clear ways of showing that to be the case.
“If you’ve been doing the work, if you’ve been spending your time constructively, this is your moment,” Ross said.
Impact of victims
The impact of a commutation on victims and survivors will be part of how applications are evaluated, according to Executive Order #287. Also evaluated will be the potential impact on public safety, applicants’ prison conduct and their personal growth and development since conviction.
“What commutations allow is for the governor to come in and to step in and to identify people who have made changes,” Rodriguez said.
If someone is truly remorseful, has accepted responsibility and demonstrated long-term change, prison no longer serves any meaningful rehabilitative purpose, he said.
Rodriguez also said that commutations could improve public safety by helping reduce overcrowding inside Wisconsin prisons.
“Far more people are incarcerated than we even have space for,” Rodriguez said.
Under these conditions, Rodriguez said, prisons become less safe and less effective at rehabilitation.
“It makes our community less safe when we have overcrowded prisons because they’re not getting the same quality of treatment,” Rodriguez said.
Accountability
During a commutation application webinar organized by Justice Forward Wisconsin, former Wisconsin Parole Commission Chair John Tate II said accountability is central to the process.
“The thing that I would emphasize the most when we’re talking about a discretionary mechanism within the criminal legal system is accountability, accountability, accountability,” Tate said.
“Any minimization of what their role in that (crime) was is often seen as a lack of accountability,” he added.
Jones said his accountability starts with fully acknowledging the harm he caused and what kind of person he once was.
“I was a horrible person, and I took lives without mercy,” Jones said.
But Jones said decades in prison changed him.
His wife, Jessica, who met him while working at the New Lisbon Correctional Institution in Juneau County, said her views on rehabilitation have changed by getting to know people who are incarcerated.
“Most of the general public believes that all people in prison are horrible people, incorrigible and worthless,” she said. “I used to be one of those people. I believed everyone in prison could be nothing more than their worst day. Then, I worked in the prison and learned how wrong I was.”
She said she met many men in prison who shouldn’t be there anymore. She believes her husband is one of them.
“He does more good than many free people I know,” she said. “He does not let his sentence or crime define him even though it’s a daily reality.”
Open questions
Major questions about the process still remain, including how quickly applications will be processed and how many people could ultimately receive commutations.
There is also uncertainty surrounding the future of the process itself. NNS reached out to the governor’s office to ask whether the commutation process could change under new leadership but did not receive a response.
“This is a governor’s last term,” Rodriguez said. “When it comes to executive orders, those can be changed in an instant.”
The mayor’s office and the Milwaukee Department of Public Works are defending the city’s parking enforcement during last week’s flooding.
From April 15 to April 16, the city issued 4,666 parking citations, according to data provided by the Department of Public Works, or DPW.
Officials said enforcement is still necessary during extreme storm-related conditions.
“Severe weather events make it particularly important for people to obey the posted parking restrictions,” said Jeff Fleming, spokesperson for Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “During rain events, quite a number of parking restrictions are in place to enable full street cleaning.”
Fleming also said flooding can be exacerbated when street cleaning is impeded by parked vehicles.
South Side resident Jacob Quinones said he was too busy dealing with the flood to worry about parking.
“My basement flooded, and I was late to work because of getting towed,” he said.
Parking enforcement looked much different during the historic storms on Aug. 9 through Aug. 10, which also caused severe flooding throughout the city.
According to DPW data, 991 citations were issued on those days, which occurred over the weekend.
Behind the numbers
The 4,666 parking citations issued on April 15-16 include all standard parking enforcement activity, said Tiffany Shepherd, DPW marketing and communications officer.
Citations were issued earlier on Wednesday before the storm and after conditions improved on Thursday, she said.
She said officers did adapt during the most intense conditions.
During a peak storm window, from roughly 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., parking enforcement continued but focused on responding to complaints, resulting in 141 tickets, said Shepherd.
She said safety concerns limited enforcement during that time.
“Our staff is not going to be driving through flood waters or anything like that. That’s just not safe,” Shepherd said. “For those two hours where things were really bad, no tickets were being issued.”
Response in August
During the August floods, there was a period when parking enforcement was formally suspended and staff redirected to flood-related work, said Lisa Vargas, administrative specialist with DPW, in an email.
Overnight enforcement was also formally suspended in the days following the storm, from Aug. 11 to Aug. 14. Enforcement was not suspended as a result of last week’s storms.
Staff assisted stranded or abandoned vehicles, conducting 88 free relocation tows, Vargas said. During last week’s floods, four free relocations were provided.
A flooded-out car parked on West Burleigh Street in Milwaukee on April 10, 2026. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
‘It cost me $566’
When Quinones’ car was towed near his home on South 13th Street and West Ohio Avenue, he said it left him with no real alternatives.
“It’s my only form of transportation,” he said. “It cost me $566 plus a favor from a friend for the ride to the tow lot.”
Quinones said being ticketed and towed while also dealing with flooding created a great deal of stress. He said the city needs to rethink its approach.
“If severe weather is on the horizon, keep your meter maids and parking checkers safe at home,” he said.
The importance of parking enforcement
Shepherd emphasized that although most enforcement took place before and after flooding conditions, weather is still not an excuse to park irresponsibly.
“What you’re going to find out is the majority of these tickets don’t have anything to do with anyone being affected by the flood,” she said. “Just because there was bad weather, you can’t block a hydrant.”
Appealing citations
The mayor’s office has no plans to forgive tickets issued during last week’s floods, but residents do have an option to appeal.
“The appeal process is pretty straightforward, so we do not have plans for any blanket amnesty,” Fleming said.
People can go through the appeals process if the flood was pertinent to the ticket, and the city will look at that on a case-by-case basis, Shepherd said.
Researchers say this means there could be a critical but often overlooked window for intervention.
It also suggests there is a group of people who can be targeted for various forms of novel intervention, the authors of the study conclude.
Those more likely to report thoughts of shooting others were individuals who are younger, male, Black, living in the Midwest and in urban areas, according to the study.
For Vaun Mayes, a community organizer who also does violence interruption for the city of Milwaukee’s Department of Community Wellness and Safety, the study’s conclusions ring true.
“There are definitely usually signs of escalation prior to the results we see,” Mayes said. “Young people most definitely give notice before violence, and Black folks specifically culturally do as well.”
Millions report thoughts about shooting someone
The study found that roughly 8.5 million people said they had seriously thought about shooting someone in the year before being asked. Over a lifetime, that number rises to more than 19 million.
Although most never acted on their thoughts, the study estimated that 1.5 million U.S. adults had brought a gun to a specific location with the intention of shooting someone.
Fewer than 1% temporarily handed their firearm over during a time of crisis.
The study found that gun owners are not the only people who are at risk of using a firearm, but those in the vicinity of gun owners as well.
In other words, access to a firearm, rather than ownership, is a key predictor.
A temporary crisis and fatal outcome
James Bigham, a clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, pays a lot of attention to when and how firearms are accessed, especially during times of poor mental health or mental health crisis.
Access to a gun can turn a temporary crisis into a fatal outcome, Bigham said.
“If we could shift our culture where it’s normal … to transfer firearms during a time of crisis, we could really reduce the rates of death,” Bigham said.
Mayes said it’s because of the gap between consideration and action that violence interrupters can intervene to deescalate a situation.
The authors of the study suggest this is especially true in states with red flag laws.
Red flag laws, also known as Extreme Risk Prevention Orders, allow judges to issue court orders to temporarily restrict access to guns by individuals who could pose a threat to themselves or others.
More than 20 states have a version of a red flag law, but Wisconsin does not.
For those who are interested in places to safely store a gun, the Wisconsin Gun Shop Project’s “Live Today – Put It Away” program partners with participating gun shops – including several in Milwaukee County – to provide firearm safety information and temporary off-site storage options, often for a low fee.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
A loosely formed coalition of about 60 federal litigators is working with immigration attorneys in Wisconsin who represent clients being detained and facing deportation.
Gabriela Parra, an immigration attorney and partner at Layde & Parra S.C. in Milwaukee, said immigration policies are constantly changing, which adds new challenges.
Many cases now involve both immigration proceedings and federal civil rights issues, she said.
“If you haven’t done this, it’s a learning curve,” Parra said.
Federal litigators and immigration attorneys are working together to help meet this demand in Wisconsin.
Surge in overall need
The need for legal representation has grown as immigration enforcement has expanded.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement held an average of 69,600 people per day in detention in December 2025 – a 78% increase compared with the year before, according to an analysis by the Vera Institute of Justice, a national nonprofit working on issues related to mass incarceration and immigration.
“There is a due process crisis right now happening in our immigration system,” said Elizabeth Kenney, associate director of Vera’s Advancing Universal Representation Initiative.
While people have the right to obtain an immigration attorney, the government does not have to provide one, said Timothy Muth, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin.
Kenney said not having legal representation has major consequences.
People who have attorneys are up to 10 and a half times more likely to get successful outcomes, Kenney said.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office at 310 E. Knapp St. in Milwaukee. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
More complex cases
Parra said policy changes have added a federal civil rights dimension to many cases – changes that include how the Board of Immigration Appeals has interpreted immigration law.
The board sets binding rules for immigration judges and has authority over appeals in immigration cases.
Parra said there have been more than 80 decisions by the board since January 2025 that have affected immigration policy.
One Board of Immigration Appeals decision, known as Yajure Hurtado, requires immigration judges to treat many as subject to mandatory detention. The decision has significantly limited people’s access to bonds.
“Now you have individuals in detention unless you can file a habeas petition in federal court,” Parra said.
A habeas petition is used to argue that a person’s detention is unlawful.
Habeas petitions vary widely depending on a person’s situation, said Elisabeth Lambert, a federal civil rights attorney working with the network.
Some involve people who have lived in the United States for years and seek release on bond while their cases proceed. Others involve people who entered through legal processes but are later detained and denied bond.
There also are other barriers that make it harder for people to defend themselves, requiring different support in federal court.
For example, Lambert said, immigrants facing deportation don’t have a right to discovery. This means that the only way to get the records is through a specific type of federal records request.
A right of discovery allows defendants to access information that could be used against them from a prosecutor ahead of trial.
Lambert said records can face various delays and other barriers and may arrive after the deportation proceeding has already happened.
Why federal court is different
Lambert said the two court systems – immigration court and federal court – operate very differently.
Each of these legal spaces has its own sets of rules, norms and procedures, she said.
“It’s just a lot to learn very quickly in a very high-stakes situation,” Lambert said.
It works the other way, too.
“I couldn’t go into immigration court,” she said. “I don’t have the knowledge or the experience.”
In one case Lambert and Parra worked on together, a judge issued a restraining order barring ICE from moving ahead with a client’s removal proceeding until a Freedom of Information Act issue was resolved, she said.
Lambert anticipates similar litigation in the future.
“We think that this is going to be a pretty common issue – of the government withholding people’s immigration records as part of this effort to stack the deportation process against people who are seeking immigration relief.”
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
After nearly 30 years in prison, Derek Williams appreciates the progress he’s made in his pursuit of parole.
NNS previously reported that Williams’ 180-year sentence for a string of armed robberies was reduced after he protected a correctional officer during a stabbing.
The sentence reduction made him eligible for parole decades earlier than he would have been otherwise.
He said he’s been doing all he can to go from parole eligibility to freedom.
Right now, he’s housed at the Sturtevant Transitional Facility, a minimum-security prison.
Five days a week, he is transported to the Racine Correctional Institution for his job in the gatehouse.
“I walk around freely,” Williams said. “I see every staff member and every visitor that comes through.”
But what he wants is work release, something fundamentally different.
Williams, 51, said he has always understood that a key way to demonstrate readiness for parole is doing work release – in which the Wisconsin Department of Corrections allows incarcerated people to leave a prison for a job in the community and return after their shift.
Williams said his pursuit of parole hit a major setback because his pursuit of work release has hit one.
In February, the Wisconsin Parole Commission deferred Williams’ parole for six months and withdrew its endorsement for work release, citing concerns that he was dishonest during his January parole hearing.
It is a setback driving Williams, his wife and other loved ones crazy.
“I’m literally being held in prison because the prison is not letting me out to do work release,” he said.
A Wisconsin Watch investigation found that work release opportunities in the state were limited and that prison officials weren’t tracking participation rates.
Accusation of dishonesty
The commission said Williams falsely claimed during his January hearing that at a previous hearing a commissioner had discussed initiating a pre-release investigation.
A pre-release investigation is conducted by correctional staff to verify housing, employment and public safety before parole is granted.
After reviewing the audio and transcript from the earlier hearing, the commission wrote that there was no mention of a pre-release investigation.
Williams’ “willingness to be dishonest during a parole review (and about another parole commissioner) heightens the commissioner’s stated reservations,” the Wisconsin Parole Commission said in its Feb. 2 decision.
Williams disputes this characterization, saying he was attempting to explain prior discussions, not mislead the panel or manipulate the parole process.
He also said he was not provided an opportunity to clarify his comments before the Wisconsin Parole Board made its decision.
‘Not an entitlement’
Despite the different claims about what happened, the effect on Williams’ prospects is clear.
Robert Miller is the warden of the Racine Correctional Institution, who oversees off-site authorizations for people housed at Sturtevant. Miller told Rikki Williams in an email that because the Parole Commission no longer endorses work release, her husband’s anticipated release date could be “significantly in the future.”
Rikki Williams, the wife of Derek Williams, was told in an email that her husband’s release date could be delayed. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
Beth Hardtke, director of communications for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, said in an email that work release decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
“Work release placement decisions and approvals may vary based on the individual and the types of conviction(s),” Hardtke said. “The individual’s conduct and work history … may be considered.”
In its decision, the Wisconsin Parole Commission also cited Williams’ criminal history and public safety concerns but did not elaborate on them.
A spokesperson for the commission previously told NNS that “a parole grant is not an entitlement.”
For now, Williams remains in the gatehouse.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
The nonprofit Center for Self-Sufficiency closed in September as federal investigators audited its use of $750,000 in government funding.
The organization focused on supporting residents reentering society from the criminal justice system and strengthening families. Services included financial and employment coaching, parenting support and restorative justice.
The center was based for years out of the Community Advocates headquarters at 728 N. James Lovell St. before moving to the YWCA building on King Drive in May.
The government audit found that the use of $749,000 of the federal funds was unsupported by documentation.
“It’s kind of shocking because it’s portrayed as if there was no information that backed up spending, and that definitely wasn’t the case,” said Maudwella Kirkendoll, chief operating officer of Community Advocates and former vice president of the Center for Self-Sufficiency’s board of directors.
Despite the audit, two former employees who were working at the center when it closed said the main reason the organization dissolved was a gradual dwindling of funding opportunities.
Kirkendoll agreed.
“The funding,” Kirkendoll said, “was just drying up.”
The employees asked to remain anonymous to avoid any negative impacts to future work opportunities.
The federal audit
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs oversees Second Chance Act grants, which are generally meant to support people as they reintegrate after incarceration and help reduce recidivism.
The Center for Self-Sufficiency was awarded nearly $750,000 to provide case management and employment services to men returning to Milwaukee after incarceration from 2021 to 2024, its third time receiving the grant.
The office approved an extension to continue the grant with no additional funding until September.
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General launched an audit in May into the center’s program. The office conducted a site visit, interviewed staff, reviewed policy and procedures and requested accounting and financial records.
The audit, which was released in September, indicated the Center for Self-Sufficiency could not demonstrate compliance with certain grant requirements because it did not provide the accounting documentation needed to show how funds were spent to support its program performance.
“While we determined that a majority of (Center for Self-Sufficiency’s) policies aligned with important conditions of the laws, regulations, guidelines, and terms and conditions applicable to the award, we found critical issues with (Center for Self-Sufficiency’s) grant financial management,” the report reads.
The audit also found the grant’s financial activity was mixed together with activity from other sources in the organization’s accounting records for most of the time frame that was examined.
The report recommended that the Office of Justice Programs review and “remedy” the spending, find a better use for the remaining $1,000 that was not used and make sure the Center for Self-Sufficiency has proper systems in place to track how it spends grant money before receiving any future funding.
According to the report, the center notified the office that it was considering dissolving in July and that its board ultimately voted to close the organization by Sept. 30, 2025.
What former staff and board member are saying
Kirkendoll and the two former employees said the Center for Self-Sufficiency did not misallocate any funds.
It could verify grant program expenses with receipts and paper and computer records, but it had a past accounting system that was not clear, they said.
When Dafi Dyer became president and CEO of the Center for Self-Sufficiency in late 2022, she and the board implemented a review of the center’s outside accounting firm after noticing some problems and switched to a new accounting firm and system in mid-2023, according to Kirkendoll.
During the audit, the center provided the records from its updated system, as well as the records from the previous accountant, according to Kirkendoll and the former employees.
“So all that stuff is substantiated, it was there, it just wasn’t in the format that they would have expected from the accounting firm,” Kirkendoll said.
The audit also reported that the center did not complete single audits for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs did not respond to questions about the services and documentation provided by the Center for Self-Sufficiency.
The Office of the Inspector General did not attempt to collect the spent money, according to the former employees and Kirkendoll.
Shutting down
Kirkendoll said the board was having conversations with the center’s leadership about potentially dissolving the organization in the first quarter of 2025.
As limited-term grants ended, according to Kirkendoll and former employees, leadership and the board were not sure if the organization would be able to receive enough funding from other grants to support its operations.
“When we dug deeper, it just got to a point where, as a board, we decided having even one or two grants remaining just didn’t make sense,” he said.
The center moved out of the Lovell Street building into the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin building at 1915 N. Martin Luther King Drive in May.
The Center for Self-Sufficiency made efforts to downsize by reducing employee hours and salaries, according to a former employee. It cut its staff of 10 in half in June.
The organization’s total public support dropped from $3.46 million in 2015 to $2.2 million in 2019 to $1.3 million in 2023, according to the center’s tax filings.
It also did not have much private funding – in 2023, it reported $55,054 in other gifts or contributions.
Kirkendoll said concerns about grant funding are not specific to the Center for Self-Sufficiency.
“Over the course of the last five-plus years, I think this funding overall for organizations that are doing the work has decreased substantially,” he said.
Impact
Both former employees said the center had a great working environment and a staff dedicated to the people they served.
Milwaukee artist Rosana Lazcano created a painting to honor the Center for Self-Sufficiency and the work it does to assist men who return home from prison. (NNS file photo)
One former employee said success stories from past clients, such as staying at a job for two years or having relationships with their children or families that they couldn’t maintain before, might not be reflected in data reports but can make a big difference in a person’s life.
Another former employee said they gave their contact information to the final participants in the reentry program and still tries to connect them with other resources.
“They did great work, and this is the nature of nonprofits,” Kirkendoll said. “It’s, of course, always my hope that the work continues, whether it be with another organization, because there’s definitely a need in the community.”
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
A federal lawsuit filed Feb. 23 by the legal nonprofit group Protect Democracy alleges the Department of Homeland Security used facial recognition technology unlawfully to track legal observers and label them domestic terrorists.
In Milwaukee County, law enforcement representatives are addressing facial recognition technology-related fears from residents. They’re concerned about a potential collaboration with a company called Biometrica, which provides access to facial recognition search results.
In August, Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball signed an “agreement of intent” to enter into a contract with Biometrica, said James Burnett, director of public affairs and community engagement and acting chief of staff at the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.
“But the contract is still considered to be in draft form – not fully signed, executed or valid – and has to proceed, like any other proposed contract, through the county’s statutory signing process,” Burnett said.
There currently are no services or technology being provided by Biometrica, and Biometrica does not have access to any sheriff’s office data, Burnett said.
County Supervisor Sky Capriolo, member of the county’s Judiciary, Law Enforcement and General Services Committee, said she and residents have serious concerns.
“It warrants more consideration, education and discussion,” Capriolo said. “I certainly am not ready to green-light a contract.”
Capriolo said she’s waiting to hear whether the contract will go to her committee again.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman took a different step and banned the use of facial technology by his department in early February.
On Feb. 24, Norman announced the suspension of MPD officer Josue Ayala for the improper use of a different tracking tool, the Flock camera system, to track a dating partner and a former partner.
“I am extremely disappointed to learn about the incident and expect all members, sworn and civilian, to demonstrate the highest ethical standards in the performance of their duties,” said Norman in a statement.
Ayala was charged by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office with one count of attempted misconduct in public office. Norman said he immediately directed MPD to create additional auditing mechanisms.
Concerns remain high
Social justice and civil rights advocates have expressed grave concerns about the use of the technology by both agencies, citing evidence of inaccuracies, racial bias and privacy violations.
Facial recognition technology uses artificial intelligence to identify someone by comparing a photo of an unknown face to some database of images of known faces, said Katie Kinsey at the Feb. 5 Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission meeting during a presentation by the NYU Policing Project.
The image databases can include mug shot collections, driver’s license records or images found on the internet, Kinsey said.
Facial recognition technology and local law enforcement
In spring, MPD acknowledged it used outside agencies’ licenses for facial recognition search results for two to three years without a written department policy.
The department also announced it was considering an agreement with Biometrica – an agreement that would have provided access to facial recognition technology to the department in exchange for approximately 2.5 million Milwaukee County Jail booking photos.
This proposal prompted months of public pushback before the announcement by Norman in February that the department would no longer pursue the technology.
ACLU preaches vigilance
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin welcomed Norman’s announcement but also expressed concerns about MPD’s past decision making.
It is “extremely concerning that MPD secretly used FRT (facial recognition technology) searches for years without any standard operating procedure – or any written guidelines – in place,” an ACLU spokesperson said in an email to NNS.
The organization is urging Milwaukee residents to remain vigilant.
“Countless Milwaukee residents and community leaders have engaged in thoughtful community education, spent hours upon hours in public meetings and contacted their local elected officials to voice their unequivocal opposition to the use of (facial recognition technology), and they will still be watching,” the spokesperson said.
The MPD spokesperson told NNS the department could revisit the issue in the future when a policy is in place that aligns with both public safety benefit and public concerns.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
When the Social Development Commission stopped running its anti-poverty programs and services in 2024, it left many employees and contractors unpaid for completed work.
Nearly two years later, some have received a partial payment, while others are still waiting.
Deja Allen, a former housing intake specialist for SDC, is owed $2,518.09 in gross wages, according to her wage claim.
She said she was out of work for eight months and the unpaid wages affected her tremendously as she figured out how to pay her rent and bills.
“I am thankful for my family being able to assist me while I looked for other employment,” Allen said.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state’s Department of Workforce Development that claims SDC owed nearly $360,000 in back wages and benefits to former employees.
Sarah Woods, former youth and family services staff, was laid off when the agency paused services in April 2024. She filed a wage claim with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, which informed her that she is owed $4,756.
Woods said she last received an update from the state in May 2025, when a representative said SDC would not have more information until the legal process is completed.
Department of Justice attorney Michael D. Morris said at a status conference last month that William Sulton, SDC’s former legal counsel, is still working behind the scenes with him on reaching a resolution and requested additional time. The next status conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on March 26.
A spokesperson for the Department of Workforce Development said the department isn’t able to provide additional details on the lawsuit’s status or outcomes while litigation continues.
Jorge Franco, interim CEO of SDC and chair of the SDC board, said that paying employees and contractors what they’re owed remains a major priority for SDC. He advised former employees to follow the legal process closely.
“It’ll be upon the attorneys for the claimant to determine what and how they proceed through next steps,” he said.
Contractors still owed
In his more than 40 years providing weatherization services in the Milwaukee area, Jaime Hurtado said SDC had one of the best and most robust weatherization divisions.
Hurtado is the owner and president of Insulation Technologies Inc., or Intec, and worked with SDC for more than 20 years.
Jaime Hurtado, owner and president of Insulation Technologies Inc., said his company is still owed $112,500 for work completed for SDC. Hurtado poses for a photograph in front of an apartment complex that his company is helping to complete on Feb. 5, 2026. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
SDC received funding for the work through Wisconsin’s Weatherization Assistance Program. The Wisconsin Department of Administration suspended SDC’s participation in the program in March 2024 and began a forensic accounting after it reported a misallocation of funds.
“They had built a professional, top-tier delivery service, a program to deliver these services in weatherization for people who need it the most,” Hurtado said. “It’s a heartbreak to see that go out of existence.”
Franco has said the department refused to reimburse SDC for nearly $490,000 in weatherization work and let it continue accumulating expenses before shutting down the program.
Intec and two other contractors, Affordable Heating and Air Conditioning Inc. and DMJ Services LLC, otherwise known as Action Heating & Cooling, sued SDC on claims that it failed to pay for weatherization work completed under contract in 2023 and 2024.
A judge granted the contractors a money judgment of $186,517.03 plus statutory costs and interest in October. About $112,500 of that would go to Intec, but it hasn’t been collected yet.
Jon Yakish, owner of Micro Analytical Inc., said his asbestos-testing laboratory has not been paid for 90% of the contracts it had with SDC before it closed.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” he said, estimating the remaining unpaid work cost around $2,300. “And I know there’s other people out there where it was a much bigger deal, so it’s hard for me to complain.”
Loss of work
More than the missing payments, Yakish and Hurtado’s businesses have felt the sustained impact of losing a loyal customer.
Intec continues to perform work in the state’s weatherization program, Hurtado said, but at a reduced level. He said other providers have brought in a smaller volume of business than SDC.
“We just move our attention to other parts of the market,” Hurtado said.
Yakish said Micro Analytical also hasn’t received the same amount of business it had from SDC from the other organizations that have taken over the weatherization program services in Milwaukee.
“We don’t want to rely on the government, but it is a baseline of work that’s always going on, that kind of, in a way, helps us be recession-proof,” Yakish said.
Moving on
Hurtado said the lawsuit was the only way to secure Intec’s rights to collect the money that it’s owed, though he acknowledged that SDC owes other lenders and suppliers.
“Who knows if they’ll have enough money to pay our balance, but at least we’ll be in the list,” he said.
The $112,500 amount is about 25% of the total amount Intec was owed from SDC, Hurtado said. He said the state worked with other weatherization service agencies to pay Intec the other 75%, which helped the company.
“Thank God we’re diversified enough, and we’re a strong company,” he said.
Yakish said he submitted invoices and data on work performed at the state’s request in order to get paid, and a few contracts were paid. He became frustrated after the companies that had taken over SDC’s weatherization contracts kept asking for the same information.
“I kind of told them, ‘Look, I’m throwing my hands up. This is the last time I’m doing this,’” he said. “So I don’t know if they took that as I was unwilling to work with them or whatever, but it just seemed really clear that nothing was actually going to happen.”
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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