Alan J. Borsuk – Page 114 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

“A Good Start” on Building Joe Zilber’s Neighborhood Improvement Legacy

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 12, 2010
Post category:Milwaukee Speakers at Marquette

“I think Joe’s looking down, saying, ‘Well, it’s a good start.’”

That’s how Susan Lloyd, the executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation, described the progress being made in carrying out a $50 million commitment to revitalizing specific Milwaukee neighborhoods made by the late philanthropist, Joseph Zilber.

At an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at Marquette Law School on Thursday, Lloyd described the work of the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative, launched in 2008. The initiative is focused on two neighborhoods, Lindsay Heights on the north side and the Clarke Square on the south side.

Zilber, a real estate developer who died in March 2010, saw opportunity everywhere he went, Lloyd said, and was eager to see new vitality in places such as Lindsay Heights, where his childhood home was.

But achieving that, especially in trying economic times, is not a short-term matter.

The Post-Election Education Landscape: Vouchers Up, WEAC Down

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 3, 2010
Post category:Education & Law Milwaukee Public Schools Wisconsin Law & Legal System

Two quick education-related comments on Tuesday’s election outcomes in Wisconsin:

First, this was a banner outcome in the eyes of voucher and charter school leaders. Governor-elect Scott Walker is a long-time ally of those promoting the 20,000-plus-student private school voucher program in the city of Milwaukee, and he is a booster of charter schools both in Milwaukee and statewide. But just as important as Walker’s win was the thumpingly strong victories for Republicans in both the Assembly and State Senate, which will now come under sizable Republican majorities.

What will result?

Aharon Barak: A Judicial Approach Shaped by the Worst and Best in People

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 3, 2010
Post category:Judges & Judicial Process Speakers at Marquette

Aharon Barak is known internationally for his role in strengthening individual rights and the civil courts in Israel. The accomplishments and prestige of the retired chief judge of the Israeli Supreme Court are what made him a good choice for presenting this year’s Hallows Lecture at Marquette Law School.

But beyond the Hallows lecture on judicial philosophy Monday and beyond what Barak said to several classes and at meetings with faculty members and beyond his remarks Sunday night at a dinner attended by leaders of Milwaukee’s Jewish community, there lies a personal side to what it motivates Barak as a judge. It came out in spontaneous remarks at a private dinner Monday night after the Hallows lecture.