Contact: Melanie Conklin, 608-260-2409
MADISON — The following is a statement from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s Chair Martha Laning on news Gov. Scott Walker shared with several media outlets embargoed until late last night:
“The safety of the workers and the youth at Lincoln Hills is of top importance and we are very glad that Gov. Scott Walker is at last seeking to address this crisis. It’s also positive he is borrowing plans from the long list of solutions Democratic legislators have been putting forward over the years as conditions at the facility deteriorated and injuries piled up.
“For more than six years, pressure has mounted on Walker from the public, advocates, youths’ families, Democratic legislators and continuous news coverage–and he ignored them and failed to act until now when he is facing a tough re-election.
“Walker simply must not be allowed to gloss over the neglect and inattention he has had both for Lincoln Hills, and more broadly for Wisconsin. We have suffered as a state due to his lack of interest in our schools and students, our families in need of good jobs, our crumbling infrastructure and in the horrific conditions at this juvenile corrections facility that he refused to confront until this month.
“Wisconsin deserves a governor who will pay attention to our state for all four years of his or her term and will work every day to serve Wisconsin.”
