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Only a quarter of fines for marijuana possession in Milwaukee County since 2019 have been paid, she said. A report released Monday by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said both marijuana arrests and convictions in Milwaukee County have decreased significantly since 2010. Although the data showed steep declines in arrests, it also highlighted ongoing racial disparities in enforcement, with African Americans 3.2 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in Milwaukee County. Emilio De Torre, executive director of the Milwaukee Turners, a local nonprofit that focuses on social justice issues, said legalization doesn’t equate to support for marijuana use but helps address racial disparities in enforcement.

The Department of Health Service’s review cites these concerns as a reason to delay recertifying the Milwaukee Health Department as a Level III department. Torres, who joined the department in November 2019, said the city’s systems for data collection were antiquated at the time and needed updating. Dr. Linda Murray, a former president of the American Public Health Association and retired former colleague of Torres based in Chicago, said Torres began her career as a social worker but eventually realized that many of the problems she addressed shouldn’t be dealt with on an individual level. Torres and Murray worked together in the University of Illinois-Chicago’s School of Public Health, during which time Torres led initiatives to connect academic health departments with community members, Murray said.

Politicians have done this by devising a broken system to undermine free and fair elections in Wisconsin — intentionally carving up our communities, drawing legislative maps so absurd and unequal that the leaders of our state Assembly, Senate and Congress are all but predetermined – despite the fact that in a democracy, voters should choose our leaders, not the other way around. This has real-life consequences for people across Wisconsin, with legislators unaccountable at the ballot box for their relentless attacks on immigrants and Black people, such as the failure to restore driver’s licenses for immigrants and low-income people of color who are criminalized and also lose access to a driver’s license because they cannot afford to pay a fine, often unrelated to driving. That’s why members of Voces de la Frontera and people across Wisconsin are coming together to call our state legislators and demand they support the proposal put forth by Gov. Tony Evers in his budget for a democratic and transparent plan for redistricting fair maps. Members of Voces de la Frontera and people across Wisconsin are making our voices heard, contacting the People’s Maps Commission, telling commissioners what our communities need in our maps and in our democracy.

Beyond the expert consensus that partisan gerrymandering is a threat to American representative government, it has been you all, the everyday residents of Wisconsin, who have truly inspired me and reaffirmed my belief in government. In some state legislative districts, partisan gerrymandering means fewer than 15% of the electorate and only the electorate of one political party are choosing their representative. Every single Milwaukeean who cares about our democracy needs to participate in the commission’s work and to send a message to every elected official that we demand a fair, nonpartisan redistricting process. Selected by a three-judge panel, the People’s Maps Commission is a nine-member nonpartisan redistricting commission charged with drawing fair, impartial maps for the state of Wisconsin.