Juvenile Justice Reform Was Proposed By A Democrat

The State Assembly Minority Leader says it is interesting that Governor Walker is finally doing something about the abuse that went on at Lincoln Hills. The Governor talked in his State of the State Address last week about creating six smaller regional facilities for juvenile offenders and turning Lincoln Hills into a medium security adult prison. Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz notes Governor Walker did nothing when concerns about Lincoln Hills first popped up. He says, “You know six years ago when he was notified of the abuse that was going on, he proposed doing nothing. Democrats have been championing we need a juvenile justice reform. We have been calling for accountability for six years.” The state lawmaker from Oshkosh says the Governor basically took the ideas of State Representative Evan Goyke, a Democrat, and used them for political gain. Hintz says, “He took Representative Evan Goyke’s proposal, on the six regional facilities and converting Lincoln Hills, I mean it was almost word for word. And he gave him some acknowledgement, but he hasn’t been working on this. This decision was again an election year decision to protect himself from six years of failure on an important issue.” Hintz notes a book will be coming out this summer that lays the blame for what happened at Lincoln Hills at the Governor’s feet.