News and Commentary
This page displays timely announcements, news reports, and articles written by MOSES members previously published in our newsletters, yearbook, or venues. Signed articles offer information and interpretations to support advocacy, but are not official MOSES positions. Links to official MOSES position statements may be found on this page. The main display shows all items with the most recent first. You can select particular topics, working groups, or types of information to see the articles of one type, with the most recent first. Also see the Publications & Resources page for links to whole newsletters and yearbooks as well as other resources for research.
Organizer’s Year in Review
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Organizer, Yearbook
From James Morgan, Our MOSES Community Organizer At the close of 2025, I have been reflecting on MOSES. I want to honor the steadfastness and dedication of our members in all components of our organization. I look forward to the same commitment in the coming year, focusing on sustainability and effectiveness as we continue to brand MOSES in the community. We hope to bring attention to the issues that impact the people of Wisconsin in a dignified and respectful manner. Right up front, I want...
State Budget Advocacy 2025
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Community Issues, Events, Organizations and Alliances
Grassroots Groups Unite to Urge Governor Evers to Veto the Budget – Unless certain critical demands are met On May 27, just six weeks after WISDOM’s Madison Action Day at the state Capitol, members of MOSES and WISDOM joined representatives of Citizen Action of Wisconsin (one of the organizers), the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI), Northside Rising (Milwaukee), Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Network, and Planned...
Healing Over Harm Rally Aug 23
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Criminal Legal System, Events, Prisons, WISDOM, WISDOM Conditions of Confinement, WISDOM Old Law, Yearbook
Healing Over Harm: WISDOM Affiliates and Allied Organizations Rally at Governor’s Mansion A good-sized crowd turned out for this WISDOM-organized demonstration on August 23. At least 20 members of MOSES were on hand, many with homemade signs, joining a large contingent from MICAH in Milwaukee, representatives from other WISDOM affiliates around the state, and allies from other organizations like the ACLU and the Poor People's Campaign. MOSES Organizer James Morgan served as emcee,...
Madison Action Day 2025
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Events, WISDOM
Madison Action Day: WISDOM Affiliates Gather to Speak to State Legislators The 2025 edition of this biannual event on April 10 received an extra boost of energy as some 400 participants celebrated the 25th anniversary of WISDOM. The morning began with a plenary session at the Masonic Temple. This was followed by a march to the Capitol and a rally on the State Street steps, visits to legislative offices, and a wrap-up at Grace Episcopal Church, before many boarded buses to return...
Justice System Reform Initiative (JSRI) Task Force Very Active in 2025!
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Criminal Legal System, Dane County Jail, Diversions from Incarceration, JSRI Justice System Reform Initiatives, Yearbook
JSRI’s priorities for 2025 and beyond. The italicized text describes progress made in 2025. The Crisis/Triage Center is an essential reform that will help keep people out of the criminal-legal system. It will also be an important resource for some individuals when they are having a mental health crisis. Establishing this center has been delayed, due both to a new state administrative rule and to funding issues. The Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES), a...
Capitol Listening Session 2025
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, WISDOM, Yearbook
On Nov. 12, advocates from WISDOM and affiliated organizations packed a hearing room at the Capitol for a Listening Session on key issues affecting our state. Unusually for those of us in MOSES, this event provided an opportunity to hear not only from those seeking reforms to the criminal-legal system, but also from immigrant families, dairy farmers who employ immigrants, and a representative of the “Rights of Nature” movement about strengthening environmental protection. All agreed on the...
Journey to Justice / Unlock the Box
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Criminal Legal System, Events, WISDOM Conditions of Confinement, Yearbook
On Oct. 11 and 12, the nationwide Journey to Justice/Unlock the Box Bus Tour stopped in Madison, providing extraordinary opportunities to learn what solitary confinement is like and what it does to people. Visitors to the bus could lie down on the narrow bunk in a solitary-sized cell, see photographs, read moving letters from prisoners in solitary about the sights they missed most, listen to audio recordings about solitary, and much more. There was simply not enough time to take it all in....
Just Conversation on Discretion in Criminal Justice
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Criminal Legal System, Events, Organizations and Alliances, Policing, Racism and Racial Equity, Yearbook
On Jan. 17, 2025, JustDane and the Madison Justice Team hosted "A Just Conversation on Discretion, Charging Disparities, and Racial Dynamics in Criminal Justice." This event featured a panel of experts on different aspects of the criminal-legal system, especially as it operates in Dane County. Detective Sgt. Kenneth Mosley, a member of the Madison Police Department since 2007, emphasized the MPD's efforts to reduce racial disparities in the ways police treat civilians. UW-Madison...
Message from the President
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | MOSES leadership, Yearbook
Dear MOSES Family, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of you for your hard work, unwavering support, deep dedication, and steadfast determination. Because of your commitment, we continue to build collective power and move closer to dismantling the unjust systems that harm our communities. As we reflect on this past year, my heart is filled with gratitude, hope, and renewed determination. The journey toward justice is never easy, yet each one of you — members, volunteers, partners,...
MOSES Advocacy for Dane County Budget: 2025 in review
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Community Issues, MOSES leadership, Yearbook
MOSES Advocates to Restore Safety-Net Funding to 2026 Dane County Budget Creating the 2026 Dane County budget was a difficult process. For starters, there was a $31-million deficit, driven by rising expenses -- especially in health care – that bumped up against state-imposed revenue caps. County Executive Melissa Agard requested that all departments take a 4% cut off their base, and all departments complied except the Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff Barrett argued that any change to his budget would...