Former Republican Governor Walker And Lt. Governor Kleefisch Allegedly Knew The Outdated DWD Unemployment System Needed An Urgent Fix, But They Both Ignored It, Manny Perez, Former Secretary of DWD Claims

Former Walker-Kleefisch DWD Secretary:

Rebecca Kleefisch knew Wisconsin's unemployment system urgently needed to be fixed but ignored the problem.

By Manny Perez, Republican former Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development 

April 29, 2022

Madison, Wisconsin - When she launched her political campaign for governor, Rebecca Kleefisch (R) shockingly attacked incumbent Governor Tony Evers (D) for an outdated unemployment system that left "hundreds of thousands" wondering "what they were going to do just to make ends meet."

What Kleefisch failed to note in her speech is that this very unemployment insurance system was flagged for her and Governor Scott Walker as an urgent problem just three weeks into the Walker-Kleefisch Administration in 2011. They knew this was a crisis waiting to happen and did nothing.

I know this happened because I was the Walker-Kleefisch-appointed Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD). I was the one who flagged this urgent problem just three weeks into the Administration only to be rejected. Not only did they refuse to act at the time, but over their entire eight years in office, the overhaul of these outdated systems was ignored.

Immediately after assuming this role in 2011, I personally conducted a threat assessment of the department. This included verbally reviewing the status and pressing problems with each department head. This threat assessment review ranged from Facilities Management, Safety, and Security to the Unemployment Insurance system. We also held formal meetings with each department head as we worked to identify challenges and implement solutions departmentwide.

In the first three weeks of 2011, the team at the Unemployment Insurance Department brought to my attention the urgent need to revamp the system as it was obsolete, it required a great deal of maintenance, and they were concerned that one of these days a serious problem would occur that would prevent the issuance of Unemployment Insurance checks. It was clear then, as we've now witnessed, that this system could collapse if the volume of requests suddenly increased.

Given that a project of this scale would likely involve federal funds, and for the purpose of bringing a specific solution to the Governor and Lt. Governor, I contacted the U.S. Department of Labor and brought the issue to the Undersecretary of DOL's attention. I was told that if Governor Walker would send a formal letter reporting the issue and requesting assistance from DOL, the U.S. Department of Labor would align resources to modernize the system and even offered to create extra processing capacity as DOL was aware that several states also had obsolete Unemployment Insurance systems.

Subsequently, I reported the issue and presented the proposed federally-funded solution, together with several other initiatives that I felt were needed to help the private sector have qualified workers and for workers to find sustainable employment. The response was a categorical and emphatic "no!" It was clear to me that under no circumstances would the Walker-Kleefisch Administration accept federal help from a Democratic President to fix the failing UI system in Wisconsin. They did not care that a failed UI system would hurt businesses, workers, and families. They only cared about how it would look politically, if they accepted help from then President Barack Obama (D). It was playing politics at its worst and it hurt Wisconsin.

In a September 2011 interview, Rebecca Kleefisch even acknowledged publicly that there were "some issues with unemployment insurance," vastly downplaying the severity of the problems, but showing the administration was aware of this issue early on and failed to act over the next seven years. Rebecca Kleefisch can try as she might to score political points and divide Wisconsinites over this issue, but she can't hide the truth about her record. When she had the opportunity to do something about the system, she chose to play politics and do nothing.

Had the modernization process been implemented by the Walker-Kleefisch Administration in 2011, the State of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin private sector, and the workers would not have had to endure the UI problems that have occurred when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit our great country.

Manuel "Manny" Perez, former Wisconsin Secretary of Workforce Development was a Republican Walker-Kleefisch Appointee

Source: Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

64-year-old Clifton A. Blackwell Found Guilty By Jury For The 2019 Hate Crime Chemical Acid Attack Of Muhad Villalaz In The Southside Of Milwaukee

Blackwell was criminally charged in 2019 for splashing battery acid at a 42-year-old Hispanic man outside a Southside Milwaukee Mexican restaurant.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 28, 2022

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Thursday, a Milwaukee Circuit Court County jury found Clifton A. Blackwell, 64, who is White guilty on one felony count of 1st-degree reckless injury with a hate crime enhancer including use of a dangerous weapon in connection with the November 1, 2019 chemical acid attack of Muhad Villalaz who was 42 years of age when the criminal act against him occurred. Blackwell is now facing up to 25 years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.

A sentencing hearing is set for Blackwell for May 18, 2022, according to court records.

Blackwell had claimed during trial that he doused Villalaz with a chemical acid in self-defense when Villalaz allegedly attempted to strike him. He admitted of carrying a container with chemical acid for self-defense. 

Villalaz claimed that he did flinched at Blackwell because he was being verbally targeted with racial slurs by Blackwell, but never intended to strike him.

Villalaz is originally from Peru and became a U.S. Citizen. According to Villalaz, Blackwell called him an "illegal", including other racial slurs and told him that he should go back to his country.

Villalaz in November 2019 was hospitalized after he was attacked by Blackwell with the chemical acid during a verbal dispute at the 2600 block of  S. 13th Street in the Southside of Milwaukee, according to the criminal complaint. 

Villalaz had just arrived at the Taqueria La Sierrita restaurant located at S. 13 and W. Cleveland when he encountered Blackwell and got into a verbal dispute over a parking spot near a bus route 19 stop before the suspect threw the chemical acid at Villalaz, after telling him to go back to his country including using other verbal racial slurs and then fled on foot.

Blackwell and Villalaz's verbal dispute including Blackwell dousing Villalaz with the chemical acid was recorded by an outdoor video surveillance camera from the restaurant. Blackwell was taken into custody by police shortly after the incident.

Blackwell is a U.S. military Veteran and served in the U.S. Marines, which his family says suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In 2006, Blackwell was convicted for a felony charge in Rusk County for pointing a weapon at an individual. 

Blackwell is a Trump supporter, according to a woman that operates a local business, which Blackwell used to frequent and is considered a racist just like Trump himself.

Several Milwaukee Cops From The Southside 6th District Station Placed On Administrative Duty After Social Media Video Surfaces Showing Officer Shoving Homeless Man On S. 27th Street

The Milwaukee Police Department is reviewing a social media video showing use of force by an officer shoving a homeless man.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 28, 2022

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Several Milwaukee Police officers from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) 6th District Station were placed on administrative duty after a social media video surfaced from an incident on Saturday that showed several police officers talking to a homeless man in front of Americash Loans, 3100 block of S. 27th Street while one of the officers was kicking his stuff around and going through his backpack. That's when a Facebook user who was in a vehicle heading Northbound on S. 27th Street was able to video record at least 45 seconds of the incident.

In the video, which has no sound shows when the homeless man gets close to an officer while saying something and pointing his finger at him, then the officer quickly leaned over and shoved him to the ground, making the man to lose his balance and fall backwards striking a brick barrier. Then both officers proceeded to handcuff and arrest him.

The 37-year-old homeless man was arrested, cited for disorderly conduct, resist/obstruct an officer and then released, according to MPD.

Police were apparently called to the location around 5:25p.m. on Saturday for a complaint about an individual exposing himself. 

14-year-old Homicide Suspect Carson Peters-Berger Charged With The Murder Of His 10-year-old Cousin Iliana "Lily" Peters In Chippewa County

14-year-old Peters-Berger confessed to police that he lured his cousin, 10-year-old Lily Peters to a wooded area near her aunt's home and while walking in a trail, he allegedly punched her in the stomach, beat her with sticks, strangled her until she lost consciousness and then sexually assaulted her.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 27, 2022

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin - On Wednesday, Carson Peters-Berger, 14, (only identified by initials C.T.P.-B. in a sealed criminal complaint; case# 2022CF000265) was charged with the brutal and cold blooded murder of Iliana "Lily" Peters, 10, who was discovered deceased in a wooded area by some people. She was reported missing to local police on Sunday night by her father.

Peters-Berger's identity was revealed in multiple social media posts.

According to the Chippewa County prosecutor on Wednesday during a court hearing, Peters-Berger told police that he intended to rape and kill his 10-year-old cousin. 10-year-old Peters' body was found on Monday morning in a wooded area near a walking trail just several blocks from her aunt's house at the 400 block of N. Grove Street in Chippewa Falls, Chippewa County.

Peters-Berger was taken into custody on Tuesday night, according to Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm.

Peters-Berger was charged with three felony counts for 1st-degree intentional homicide, 1st-degree sexual assault and 1st-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13 resulting in great bodily harm. If convicted, Peters-Berger is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole for 1st-degree intentional homicide, and 60 years in prison for the second count, and life in prison for the third felony count. A $1,000,000 cash bond was set for Peters-Berger and he remains at a juvenile detention center until he is waived to adult criminal court and County jail.

According to the Chippewa County prosecutor, Peters-Berger admitted to luring his 10-year-old cousin to the woods near her aunt's house with intent to rape and kill her. Peters-Berger confessed that he punched his 10-year-old cousin in the stomach that made her fall to the ground, striking her with sticks, he strangled her to the point of death (losing consciousness) and then sexually assaulted her.

Unsealed Peters-Berger's criminal complaint (redacted).

Milwaukee Southside Battery Acid Attack Hate Crime Suspect Clifton Blackwell, 64, Trial To Be Televised

Blackwell's trial begins for the 2019 battery acid attack of Hispanic man outside a Southside Milwaukee Mexican restaurant.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 26, 2022

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Tuesday, the trial of Clifton Blackwell, 64, continued with jury selection. Blackwell's trial will be televised, according to Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jean Marie Kies, Court Branch 45. 

Blackwell was criminally charged for the chemical acid attack of Muhad Villalaz 42, on November 1, 2019 in Milwaukee's Southside, according to Milwaukee County Court records. 

Villalaz is originally from Peru and became a U.S. Citizen. According to Villalaz, Blackwell called him an "illegal", including other racial slurs and told him that he should go back to his country.

Blackwell was charged on November 6, 2019 in Milwaukee County with one felony count of 1st-degree reckless injury with a hate crime enhancer including use of a dangerous weapon in connection with the November 1st chemical acid attack of Villalaz. If convicted, Blackwell is facing up to 25 years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.

Villalaz in November 2019 was hospitalized after he was attacked by Blackwell with the chemical acid during a verbal dispute at the 2600 block of  S. 13th Street in the Southside of Milwaukee, according to the criminal complaint. 

Villalaz had just arrived at the Taqueria La Sierrita restaurant located at S. 13 and W. Cleveland when he encountered Blackwell and got into a verbal dispute over a parking spot near a bus route 19 stop before the suspect threw the chemical acid at Villalaz, after telling him to go back to his country including using other verbal racial slurs and then fled on foot.

Blackwell and Villalaz's verbal dispute including Blackwell dousing Villalaz with the chemical acid was recorded by an outdoor video surveillance camera from the restaurant. Blackwell was taken into custody by police shortly after the incident.

Blackwell is a U.S. military Veteran and served in the U.S. Marines, which his family says suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In 2006, Blackwell was convicted for a felony charge in Rusk County for pointing a weapon at an individual. 

Blackwell is a Trump supporter, according to a woman that operates a local business, which Blackwell used to frequent and is considered a racist just like Trump himself.

Former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett condemned Blackwell's acid attack on Villalaz and blamed Trump's anti-immigrant and hate rhetoric including his attempt to divide the country. 

Louis R. Perez III And Antonio Rodriguez, Both Mexican Posse Gang Members Sentenced To Federal Prison For Interstate Narcotics Trafficking

Perez III and Rodriguez sentenced to federal prison for interstate drug trafficking and firearm offenses.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 23, 2022

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Friday, United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced in a press release that on Thursday, April 21, 2022, U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller sentenced two Milwaukee men, both of whom identified as Mexican Posse gang members, to federal prison for drug and firearm offenses.

The court sentenced Louis R. Perez III, 25, to 21 years' imprisonment and 5 years' supervised release after Perez III pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and the possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A); and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i).  

Perez III's conviction and sentence stem from his leadership of a violent, nationwide drug trafficking organization that obtained multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana for distribution in the Milwaukee area. 

According to federal court records, Perez III, also known as "Eight Ball," often obtained controlled substances from California and shipped drug proceeds through the U.S. Postal Service to co-conspirators in California. This drug trafficking organization was comprised of some individuals identifying as Mexican Posse gang members, including Perez III. 

The court also sentenced Antonio Rodriguez, 23, a codefendant of Perez III, to 15 years of imprisonment. Rodriguez, also a known Mexican Posse gang member, was sentenced after pleading guilty to drug and firearm charges in relation to this trafficking organization.

As a result of this investigation, law enforcement officers seized approximately 45 firearms, 8.6 kilograms of cocaine, 700 grams of heroin, 4.4 kilograms of marijuana, 4,500 kilograms of marijuana oils, and 21.9 kilograms of filled marijuana vape cartridges. 

The defendants were charged based on a long-term investigation led by law enforcement agents and officers from the North Central High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office, the Milwaukee Police Department, and the Greenfield Police Department, according to the press release.

Federal criminal complaint (237 pages of indictments/PDF) link: https://bit.ly/3iauFqF

Wisconsin Migrant Rights Activist Jesús Salas To Release Upcoming Book Titled "Legacy Of The Wisconsin Farm Workers Movement"

Salas, a well known community activist and former educator is expected to release a new book about the Wisconsin farm workers movement from the 1960's to the 1970's.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 23, 2022

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Friday, Dr. Candela Marini from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Grohmann Museum announced during the opening of the Familias Unidas exhibition that Jesús Salas, a well known migrant rights activist and an instrumental community organizer and leader in the 1960's to 1970's Labor Migrant Rights Movement in Wisconsin will be releasing his new book titled "Legacy of the Wisconsin Farm Workers Movement". 

The Familias Unidas exhibit will run from April 22 to August 21, 2022 at the Grohmann Museum in MSOE. The exhibit gives tribute to the Migrant Farm Workers Labor Movement in Wisconsin during the 1960's to the 1970's.

The exhibition was made possible by the following MSOE partners: Latino Arts, Inc., UWM Roberto Hernández Center, Dr. Candela Marini and the MSOE Honors Program.

Salas during his presentation at the Grohmann Museum  spoke about his labor migrant rights activism, the 1930's Obreros (Braceros) program, the Farm Workers Labor Movement influence in Wisconsin, immigrants, farm worker migrants from Texas traveling to Wisconsin to work and higher education activism in the 1960's - 1970's in Crystal City, Texas; Wautoma and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Full video of the Salas presentation at link: https://youtu.be/-wIT8oINDpc

The Familias Unidas exhibit at the Grohmann Museum includes photos and history of the Latino/Hispanic movement from the late 1960's to 1970's. https://bit.ly/3KcUzb4

The Latino Arts, Inc. is also presenting a similar Migrant Workers exhibit at the United Communty Center in the Southside of Milwaukee.

According to the Mexican Fiesta (WHSF) website, Salas is a third generation migrant worker who spent 10 years migrating from South Central Texas to the Great Lakes Region. After relocating in Wisconsin in 1959, Jesús worked in the state's first education programs for migrants. He later founded a farmworkers union, Obreros Unidos and joined Cesar Chávez in support of the California farmworkers grape boycott. In 1969, Jesús became the first Latino CEO of United Migrant Opportunity Services. He helped establish UW-Milwaukee Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute(SSOI), now the Roberto Hernández Center, and later the Chicano/Latino Studies at UW-Madison.

After spending five years in Texas, La Raza Unida Political Party politics, Jesús returned to Wisconsin and spent over two decades teaching in Wisconsin post-secondary institutions, principally at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Later, he was invited to lecture at UW-Madison's Chicano/Latina(o) Studies Program in the 1990's. While lecturing at UW-Milwaukee in Latino Studies, Jesús was named to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents in 2003.

On August 27, 1970, Salas was one of four men and one woman arrested at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Chapman Hall. According to UWM police records, Jesús Salas, Gregorio J. "Goyo" Rivera, Dante Navarro and Jose Luis Huerta-Sanchez and one woman, Marla O. Anderson were taken into custody for protesting the discriminatory policy that kept Latinos from enrolling at UWM and for refusing to leave UWM Chancellor J. Martin Klotsche's office on that August afternoon. The UWM protest began with about 150 people and within days, it grew to more than 500 people.

Klotsche refused to meet with the protestors, but after three days of hunger strikes by the protest organizers, the stalemate broke and Klotsche finally met with them.

By September 1970, UWM along with members of the Hispanic community created the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute (SSOI) to offer academic counseling, recruit and retain potential students. The SSOI would especially serve nearly 30,000 Latinos living in the Milwaukee area.

The SSOI later changed its name to the Roberto Hernández Center at UWM. (Historic oral history of the creation of the SSOI/Roberto Hernández Center https://youtu.be/FzOpOxI_GKw)

Believe it or not, the 1970 takeover of UWM quietly faded away in the memories of those who participated and went on with their lives. After 31 years, it resurfaced again when the first comprehensive article detailing the accounts was written by H. Nelson Goodson and published in 2001 by El Conquistador Newspaper that included a Special Edition dated July 13-19, 2001, Vol. 4, Issue 29 and then revised on August 24, 2001 and distributed at the annual National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Convention held in Milwaukee that year. The NCLR is known today as UnidosUS. 

The first Goodson article about the UWM Takeover of Chapman Hall led to other articles to be written about the Latino higher education movement in Milwaukee including Wisconsin.

In the Fall semester of 1970, there were only 14 Hispanic students enrolled at UWM, most of them from South and Central America compared to 25,000 students attending classes.

For the Hispanic community, "In Milwaukee many barriers existed blocking their paths to higher education. Their language and cultural distinctness were frowned upon, and they had limited access to information about educational opportunities and few professional role models. Discriminatory treatment was the norm." (Cited from Myriad Magazine UWM 1990)

The success of the UWM Takeover of Chapman Hall in 1970, which opened the doors for higher education enrollment for low income Whites, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, African-Americans and other students of color have remained open today. Recruitment of minority students then spread to local technical colleges, private universities and colleges in the state. Today, thousands of minorities and students of color have graduated from the UW-System and will continue to do so tomorrow.

Today, Salas continues to advocate for migrant and immigration reform rights.

Special thanks to Salas, Rivera, Navarro, Huerta-Sanchez, Anderson and all those Latino and non-Latino higher education community activists who have made Wisconsin a better place to live.