Milwaukee Police Chief Asks the Public: “Our Hand Is Out. Meet Us Halfway.”

We’re all in this together. If we want a safer Milwaukee, we need people to come together to trust law enforcement, to build healthy connections in neighborhoods, to provide help to those who might otherwise be headed for trouble. Law enforcement can’t do it alone.

That was the broad message from the Milwaukee area’s two top law enforcement leaders during an “On the Issues” program Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Eckstein Hall.

The most powerful statement of the theme came from Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman. Derek Mosley, director of the Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education and moderator of the program, asked Norman and Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball what they consider the most pressing need of the departments they lead.   

“I’ve said it time and time again: It’s trust. It’s trust that we are doing the right things for the right reasons for you all,” Norman responded, gesturing to the audience of about 200.

Norman, who was named acting chief in 2020 and given the full title in 2021, urged people to leave behind past problems with some of his predecessors. Holding on to the past hampers moving forward, and the department has changed, he said.  

“We have a different culture in the Milwaukee Police Department,” he said. “Believe me. Accountability is real. But we have a lot of great men and women doing work to keep our community safe. And I stand on that.

“It’s important for all of you to know that this is a different department. It’s a different department. Give us that benefit of the doubt. It’s a partnership. It’s not a one-way vehicle here. We can’t get to reckless driving, we can’t get to violent crime, we can’t get to the things that are going on in our neighborhoods if we do not trust each other.

“Our hand is out. Meet us halfway.” He held out his hand as he spoke.

Ball jokingly responded to Norman’s impassioned call by saying, “All right, rev.”

She agreed that trust is important. But she said staffing is the biggest challenge for the sheriff’s department, with need for both more deputies to patrol freeways, parks, and the airport and more people to work in the Milwaukee County Jail, which she oversees.

Norman, who is a 2002 graduate of Marquette Law School, also said staffing is a continuing issue for the police department.

Earlier in the program, Mosley referred to the killings at the Christmas parade in Waukesha in 2021 and at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., in 2022. He asked if tragedies such as those affected preparations for large events in Milwaukee this summer.

Norman said law enforcement plans for what can be done to minimize chances of such crises, including more use of physical barriers, more visible presence of officers, and more work with community groups ahead of and during events. But, he said, events such as the killings in Highland Park by someone who was in a building overlooking the parade can be hard to prevent.

Emphasizing the theme of partnering with the community, he said a big part of what can be done is information and help from citizens. “It’s you all,“ he said. The slogan , “If you see something, say something,” is important, he said. Tips from citizens are valuable.

Ball said the sheriff’s department has built up its relationships with the 19 municipal police departments in Milwaukee County and with other law enforcement agencies. “We are better together,” she said.

Norman said collaboration among agencies was valuable and can increase effectiveness. As he put it, “You’ve got the peanut butter, I’ve got the jelly, let’s make a sandwich.”

The two took several questions and comments from the audience. One person asked how police judge whether to react strongly or stand back when there is major disorder. Norman responded, “I’m not going to allow death and destruction on my watch.”

To watch video of the program, click here.

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New MMAC Leader Says, “We’re Going to Fight for the Whole Community”

What does Dale Kooyenga like about Milwaukee?

The question came from a member of the audience at a program at Marquette Law School’s Eckstein Hall on Tuesday (April 25, 2023). The questioner said she assumed that Kooyenga didn’t like Milwaukee because he was formerly a Republican member of the Wisconsin legislature who lives in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield. The way Republicans in the legislature have butted heads with Milwaukee leaders, generally Democrats, is a long-standing dynamic of Wisconsin politics.

But Kooyenga answered empathically that he shouldn’t be counted as part of that, not when looking at his past record and especially not when looking at his new role as senior vice president of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce. Kooyenga is expected to succeed the long-time president of the MMAC, Tim Sheehy.

For one thing, Kooyenga said, his state Senate district in recent years included some parts of the city of Milwaukee, and he was proud to represent the full district. For another thing, Kooyenga said, ask former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett if Kooyenga was someone who Milwaukee leaders could talk to.

But, more broadly, Kooyenga had to pause before answering what he  likes about Milwaukee because, as he put it, “it’s a long list.” Recreational opportunities, spectator sports, the ease of doing things, the life his family is able to live, the diverse people of the metropolitan area, and, simply, the friendly character of Milwaukee and Milwaukeeans. Kooyenga said he grew up in Chicago and came to the Milwaukee area initially to go to college. He assumed he’d move back to Chicago as soon as he could. But he quickly decided Milwaukee was a great place to live — and he hasn’t left.

Furthermore, he said, don’t peg him in his new role by his partisanship in the past. “We’re going to fight for the whole community. . . . That’s important to me,” he said. “The MMAC will do what’s in Milwaukee’s best interest.”

Kooyenga said that for years, the MMAC has based its programs on four goals for the Milwaukee area: livability, growth, talent, and equity. He said the organization will continue to pursue those goals.

He praised Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley for the effort they are putting into building relationships with state leaders in Madison, including Republican legislative leaders. Their work will pay “huge dividends,” he said. And allowing local sales taxes to support government in Milwaukee – an idea that Johnson, Crowley, the MMAC, and others are supporting — “has to happen.”   

Kooyenga’s spoke at the first session of a new program of the Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. Called “Get to Know,” the programs will be hosted by Derek Mosley, the new director of the Lubar Center, and are intended to provide a somewhat informal chance to meet interesting people involved in Milwaukee and the rest of Wisconsin.

The conversation with Kooyenga, Mosley, and members of the audience may be viewed by clicking below.

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Amid Different Views, Education Conference Participants Show Interest in Dialogue on Issues

The most interesting part of a conference on education issues at Marquette Law School’s Eckstein Hall on Nov. 17, 2022, arguably did not take place during the conference itself. It was in the 45 minutes after the formal end of the two-hour session. A significant number of those who spoke or who were in the audience stayed on in the room to talk.

People from some of the best known and firmest ranks of the conservative and liberal sides of Wisconsin’s long-standing education debates stood in small groups, talking with each other civilly and sometimes with some agreement on what was being said. In some cases, they were people who had never met in person previously.

Those in attendance included four of the nine members of the Milwaukee School Board and several staff members from the Wisconsin Institute of Law & Liberty (WILL), a leading force in conservative advocacy on education issues. Along with other school leaders, civic leaders, and people from a range of education involvements, people found a lot to talk about.

It would go too far to say minds were changed and problems were solved. But serious and level-headed exchanges about issues are one of the core goals of programs of the Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education, and that was a goal served during and in the aftermath of the conference.

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