Within days of each other, Dodge, Jefferson, Marathon, Walworth, and Winnebago counties and the Racine city council received new ordinance proposals from their local health officials.
The similar “safer-at-home” language of each one makes it highly probable that local governing bodies throughout Wisconsin will soon be likewise agitated.
Each of these proposals seeks some form of “all means necessary” authority. The text of each ordinance is soft and solicitous. The authority wanted is unlimited and will remain mostly unknown to the public-at-large until it is unleashed on them.
The Dodge proposal is linked here. In Walworth county, agitation by public health officials resumed just days after their proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by the county's board. That week, Walworth residents began a coordinated pushback with the launch of WalworthCountyWatch. The “Forward Racine” proposal is still being pushed by health officials, despite two judicial slap-downs (story here, Racine Fight excerpt below).
In all cases, local health officials are seeking the authority to enforce their own lockdown and social distancing rules. This at a time when the reason for continuing these measures is no longer known, except that it is no longer for the originally stated purpose of preventing hospital overruns.
The goal of the proposed mandatory contact tracing is also unknown, except that in pursuing its seek out and quarantine operations, public health departments can deploy (on the feds tab) a very large number of intrusive public health officials, and it can put a very large number of healthy “carriers” back under lockdown.
Links to Board meeting notices/agendas and contact information for your elected Board Supervisor are listed by county below. (Lafayette is the last entry). If needed, your county district number can be found at MyVote.wi.gov. The “find my elected officials” tab is at the bottom of that page.
The Racine Fight
Last week, the Racine City Council at a hastily called meeting Tuesday voted (9-5 ) to approve a new “Forward Racine” public health ordinance, just days after the judge slapped a temporary restraining order on the city’s previous “Forward Racine” regulations. Immediately after, the city council generated a new ordinance, giving the unelected health officer the ability to close businesses and lock down the city. The judge weighed in again:
“Pursuant to the Court’s last order, both Defendants were enjoined from enforcing the substantive portion of the Forward Racine order. When issued, that meant both Defendants were barred from forcing the residents, faith organizations, and businesses in the City of Racine to comply with the Forward Racine Order while the constitutional and statutory power to issue such orders, as well as the constitutionality and statutory breadth and scope of the orders, remain at issue in this case.” Full story from Empower Wisconsin.
Board of Supervisors Contact Information Page – by Wisconsin County
