Milwaukee Police: Fired Officers Get Paychecks
So over at Watchdog Milwaukee, Jim McGuigan blogged a few days ago about fired Milwaukee police officers receiving paychecks while they appeal their terminations. Milwaukee police officers are unique in being able to collect a paycheck while they appeal their terminations, thanks to a 1980 state law enacted to counteract the capricious firing of officers by former Milwaukee Police Chief Harold Breier. What’s interesting is that some conservatives are quick to point the finger at Governor Doyle for not repealing the law, apparently ignorant of the fact that repealing laws isn’t in Governor Doyle’s job description.
While it’s true Governor Doyle hasn’t talked much about the issue, the fact remains he can’t repeal anything, since that’s the responsibility of the State Senate and Assembly, which up until the last election were both controlled by the Republican Party for a number of years. The reality of the situation is Republican lawmakers have had just as many opportunities - if not more - than Democrats to repeal the law, yet they’ve not done a darn thing about it.
In fact, I distinctly remember former Assembly Speaker Jon Gard effectively killing a bill that would have done away with that law. Coincidentally enough, Gard’s campaign received a $5,000 donation from the police union’s political action committee in June of 2005 for his congressional campaign, and then in 2006 the bill was killed. Interestingly, since 1993 the Milwaukee Police Association has given Republicans nearly three times as much as it has given Democrats.