North Side Rising

Wisconsin’s prison population is at an all-time high.

We agree with WISDOM Wisconsin that this is not acceptable!

Wisconsin communities flourish when we prioritize investments in human dignity, health, and community welfare. Every person deserves a chance to be in a safe environment that fosters well-being.

Wisconsin’s prisons are currently facing a severe overcrowding crisis. This crisis is creating an unstable and unsafe environment for both incarcerated people and people who work in the prisons.

Solutions include:

1. Reducing the prison population by advancing common sense policies such as expanding upstream diversions, expanding fair chances for early release, and ending the practice of incarcerating people for conviction-less sentencing.

2. Shifting resources away from mass incarceration and redirecting funds to build healthier, safer local communities.

3. Establishing independent oversight of the Department of Corrections.

4. Shifting dehumanizing public narratives surrounding people with conviction records to build a system focused on redemption rather than exclusion.

5. Getting involved in WISDOM Wisconsin's organizing efforts aimed at overhauling the system. Contact: Mark Rice.

LISTEN to Mark Rice on a recent Battleground Wisconsin Podcast discussing what can be done in 2027 to reduce the state’s prison population and a new poll showing a majority of Wisconsinites favor a form of clemency for some individuals>> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg754

https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/08/wisconsin-prisons-record-population-crowding-strains-staffing-programs/

Wisconsin prisons hit record population as crowding strains staffing and programs Wisconsin’s prison population broke records this week with 23,854 behind bars. It’s a new milestone for a system that has been thousands of people over capacity for decades.

Join the Wisconsin Living Wage Coalition, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and other allies for a $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in St. Francis, Thursday, September 10th, 6pm.

Hear from local residents about their daily struggle to make ends meet at less than $20/hour. Learn more about the current state legislation and find out how you can get involved and help make $20 a reality in 2027!

La Finca Coffeehouse, 3558 E. Sivyer Ave, St. Francis

RSVP >> https://tinyurl.com/mrxrpa4a

Citizen Action North Side Rising members lead some of our organizing work this weekend in Milwaukee.

We hear from so many Wisconsinites that their utilities are unaffordable.

Working class households across Wisconsin have the least disposable income yet live in older houses and apartments that are less energy efficient, and therefore more expensive to heat and cool.

The result is the families least able to afford it pay the largest proportion of their income on utilities. Most cannot afford to pay more than 5% of their income for utilities and accord other basics. But many pay 6% of their incomes and more (even 10% to 15%), being forced to choose between heat and lighting and other necessities such as rent, food, and medical care.

Several states have laws capping the percentage of income people have to pay for utilities. Wisconsin has no limit. Citizen Action members worked with State Representative Darrin Madison on a bill that caps the percentage of income households must pay for electricity and heat to the affordable level of 2% of income. The bill is a win-win for family budgets and for the environment.

Learn more about bill and take action in support >> https://citizenactionwi.org/utility-rate-cap-bill/

To get involved with North Side Rising, contact Val Ricks: [email protected]

$20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Milwaukee, Visti with Rep. Christian Phelps in Eau Claire, organizing support for the BadgerCare Public Option in rural Wisconsin, “Dump Big Tech Week” in Green Bay, and more!

Read the new Citizen Action Weekend '26 Newsletter >> https://citizenactionwi.org/2026/08/21/weekend26-august21/

Have a great summer weekend!

Citizen Action Weekend '26 Newsletter, Friday, August 21st - Citizen Action Wisconsin Thanks to everyone who came out to the Milwaukee $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall on Wednesday evening at Kuumba Coffee and Juice. Over 50 people attended,

This week we dig into the criminal justice reform most needed in the next legislation session with Mark Rice, WISDOM Wisconsin’s Transformational Justice Coordinator. Before we get to that vital topic, we provide the latest Tick Report which has surprising findings on the true origin of Lyme disease. We also dig into the first week of the general election campaign for Governor, where AI Data Centers have taken center stage and where MAGA Tom Tiffany is trying to label David Crowley as the lap dog of big tech.

Listen to the show >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg754

Mark Rice discusses the historic day this Friday when for the first time in 25 years incarcerated Wisconsinites will receive commutation hearings. We dive deeper into what more can be done in 2027 to reduce the state’s prison population and discuss new polling showing a majority of Wisconsinites favor a form of clemency for some individuals.

We debrief Wednesday evening’s $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Milwaukee where over 50 community members and leaders learned more about the legislation, and why it is needed in this moment in history and what it would mean to people who attended the town hall.

Listen to the show >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg754

Leadership on a critical issue for Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin's working families in every county in the state. We have your back on this one!

There are 800,000 Wisconsin workers who make less than $20/hour, 30% of workers, and yet in every area of Wisconsin the living wage, the amount needed to afford the basics of life, is over $20 per hour for a single person!

Many people who make above the living wage also have trouble making ends meet and getting ahead because their wages are also depressed by the artificially low wage floor in Wisconsin. When the minimum wage is increased all boats are lifted.

Learn more about the legislation Senator Dora Drake is sponsoring and take action, urging your state legislators to support the bill >> https://citizenactionwi.org/20-minimum-wage/

To join our fight for $20, contact: [email protected]

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Milwaukee $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall.

Learn more about the legislation and take action, urging your state legislators to support the bill >> https://citizenactionwi.org/20-minimum-wage/

Join us TONIGHT, Wednesday, August 19th, 6pm for a $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall.

Hear from Milwaukee residents about their daily struggle to make ends meet at less than $20/hour.

Learn more about the legislation and how you can get involved in the campaign to pass the bill in 2027.

Kuumba Juice and Coffee, 274 E. Keefe Ave. Milwaukee. Pizza will be available.

Learn more about the legislation and take action, urging your state legislators to support the bill >> https://citizenactionwi.org/20-minimum-wage/

See you TOMORROW, Wednesday, August 19th, 6pm!

Citizen Action of Wisconsin North Side Rising, Wisconsin Living Wage Coalition, members of the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus, and other allies for a $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall.

Hear from Milwaukee residents about their daily struggle to make ends meet at less than $20/hour. Learn more about the legislation and how you can get involved.

Kuumba Juice and Coffee, 274 E. Keefe Ave. Milwaukee.
Pizza will be available.

RSVP >> https://tinyurl.com/MKE20WageTownHall

Learn more about the legislation and take action, urging your state legislators to support the bill >> https://citizenactionwi.org/20-minimum-wage/