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Officials call for action on violence

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The mayor, district attorney and police chief of Milwaukee wrote a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle Thursday calling for a special session of the Legislature to address violent crime.

The letter, signed by Mayor Tom Barrett, District Attorney John Chisholm and Police Chief Edward Flynn, asks for the Democratic governor’s assistance on issues like minimum mandatory sentencing for individuals with prior criminal records, increased sentences for crimes with firearms and the transfer of authority to collect 911 surcharges within the city of Milwaukee.

“How many children will be at either end of a gun? How many more officers will be shot at?” Barrett said in a statement. “How many more funerals will there be in Milwaukee before action is taken to strengthen sentences for felons and others who think little of using, carrying or selling illegal guns to terrorize our residents?”

Doyle’s press secretary Jessica Erickson said these are issues the governor has been trying to address for years, but the Legislature has not taken them up.

“The mayor has given no suggestion that the Legislature is ready to pass these bills,” Erickson said. “Despite the governor’s strong efforts, the Legislature did not take them up in the regular session. The governor said we really need to have new legislators elected in the fall to get these important things done.”

Erickson added if the Legislature seemed like it was ready and willing to pass such measures, the governor would call for a special session.

The letter to Doyle comes after Milwaukee police had three incidents in which officers were confronted with guns over a 10-day period and another incident in which a young man opened fire into a neighborhood grocery store, according to a statement.

Milwaukee city officials also want more funding for prosecutors in the district attorney’s office and mandatory background checks on all handgun sales. Currently a background check is only required if someone purchases a gun from an arms dealer, but not when the sale is between private citizens.

Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Milwaukee, introduced legislation about prosecutor funding last session, and Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee, introduced legislation addressing the sale of handguns. Both bills expired with the ending of the current legislative session.

“It is clear to us that gang members, felons and others who unwisely choose to engage in violent crimes are not getting the message about consequences,” the Milwaukee officials said in the letter.

Barrett said he would continue to intensify his efforts to reduce gun crimes, gang problems and drugs in a letter to citizens of Milwaukee posted on his website Thursday.