Analysis

Evers administration seeking Wisconsin Amtrak expansion

By Ken Wysocky

Wisconsin officials in the Evers administration, supported by politicians in many of the state’s big cities, are vying for a piece of a $4.56 billion federal Infrastructure Act pot that they want to use to broadly expand Amtrak.

Most of the construction costs would be federally funded. But state taxpayers could be on the hook for operating and maintenance costs for an expansion that some legislative leaders say isn’t needed or wanted.

Wisconsin is one of 90 state, regional and local transit entities outside the Northeast Corridor that will learn by the end of this year if the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approves the first phase of their projects.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has asked the FRA to fund four projects. The first would extend Amtrak’s existing Hiawatha line between Chicago and Milwaukee by adding four daily round-trips between Milwaukee and Madison, with proposed stops in Pewaukee and Watertown, said Lisa Stern, chief of railroads and harbors for WisDOT.

The second would extend the Hiawatha line north by adding three daily round trips between Milwaukee and Green Bay, with stops in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Appleton.

WisDOT is also asking for federal support for more round trips between Chicago and Milwaukee and to add a second roundtrip to the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul line, she said.

Because the projects are in the preliminary stage, Stern could provide no total cost estimate for them.

Viewpoint

Congressman Steil tries to save City of Milwaukee from further waste and embarrassment

By Mike Nichols

Congressman Bryan Steil is still waiting to hear back from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about his request to please make it clear Milwaukee does not have to run “The Hop” streetcar through a closed construction site on Sundays — and Sundays only — during the winter in order to meet the requirements of a federal grant.

City of Milwaukee officials started running the streetcar on the so-called “L-Line” last Sunday — although the first train was reportedly delayed a couple hours because construction workers left some equipment on the tracks. They apparently didn’t fathom that anyone would possibly want to run a streetcar through a closed construction site where no one can get on or off.

As noted in a prior Badger Institute piece, the city has suggested the odd decision to open the L-Line is because of a federal grant deadline — although they have not requested that the deadline be waived.

“A requirement of the grant is to begin service by 10/31/2023 on the L-Line,” wrote Tiffany Shepherd, a marketing and communications officer for the Department of Public Works in an email to the Badger Institute in October. “We could have requested an extension, but choose to use this an opportunity to provide access as soon as possible, even though it’s only one day a week...”

Analysis

Wisconsin’s school choice programs serve students with disabilities

By Nicholas Kelly

A lawsuit filed last month includes false claims about Wisconsin’s school choice programs and students with disabilities. The claims echo misleading and inaccurate digital media posts by Wisconsin Watch and The Wisconsin Examiner.

A new report counters the misinformation. It shows that more than 5,000 students with disabilities participate in one of four Wisconsin choice programs. The report’s estimates are consistent with a previous five-year academic study by a team that included then-Professor John Witte of the University of Wisconsin.

The data in the new report show that last year more than 150 schools in the state’s choice programs accepted 2,217 students with special needs scholarships. Dozens of other choice schools enrolled thousands more who likely would qualify for disability status.

By the Numbers

UW professor pay

By Patrick McIlheran

The average annual wages paid to professors at University of Wisconsin campuses have generally risen, but the rate at which they’ve risen varies widely — as do the campus averages.

These are averages by campus and by year for people with the title “professor,” excluding those with other titles, such as “associate professor” or “assistant professor.”

Weekly Survey: Should Wisconsin seek a federal waiver to protect taxpayer dollars from the Sunday-only Hop line?

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