Here & Now; 418

October 28, 2005

Here and Now, Chvala hearing, Former Senate leader Chuck Chvala appeared in Dane County court this week. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts. One, for illegal campaign work conducted in state offices. The other for making a campaign contribution over the one-thousand dollar limit. Sentencing is scheduled for December. Here and Now reporter Art Hackett shot the footage you're about to see. The tape provides a condensed but otherwise unedited sequence of court exchanges, exchanges between Dane County Judge David Flanagan and Chvala. It begins with comments from the state's prosecuting attorney, Assistant Milwaukee County D.A. David Feiss, creating Government Accountability Board, Senate Bill One would combine the State Elections Board with the State Ethics Board. The new panel would be called the Government Accountablity Board. The Governor would appoint its members based on recommendations from the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, and the Deans of the state's law schools. The body would have prosecutorial authority that the Ethics and Elections Board do not have. The bill has the strong support of one of the sponsors of yesterday's rally, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Mike McCabe is the Director. Democratic State Representative Pedro Colon is a member of the Joint Finance Committee who voted against the bill. closing Florence county schools, Florence County voters -rejected- a three-year, two-and-a-quarter million dollar school funding referendum. School board there voted to dissolve the district. But it's not completely over. Voters get another chance in a November 8 referendum. If that five year, nearly five million dollar inititiative passes, the schools will remain open. If it fails, the district will close its doors in this coming July. Superintendent Jan Dooley supports the referendum, and she joins us now via video phone from Rhinelander. Members of the group that opposes the referendum declined our invitation to appear tonight. The 'Taxpayer's Alliance, ' did provide this statement: 'The Taxpayers' Alliance of Florence County would like the district to make necessary cuts and live within their means.', Recycled Truck, Mike creatively recycles parts of an old truck to rebuild another truck and calls it his 'giving truck'.