Chris Reader

@ReformingGovt @JacobJCurtis read the report and view all Court Watch reports, scorecards, and issue briefs at IRGCourtWatch.org.

Must read report from the @ReformingGovt Court Watch team @JacobJCurtis, tracking the important court cases working their way through the judicial branch in WI. This is why courts matter.

If you care about Wisconsin’s courts and the impact they have on our state and families, stay tuned to IRG’s Court Watch work. IRGcourtwatch.org

Two midwest states (Missouri, Iowa) are working to eliminate their income taxes.

@ReformingGovt Lawmakers and the next governor should take note: voters are done with the massive state spending.

Spending restraint is the poll’s broadest cross-party consensus: 53% want the next governor to cut overall state spending after a 15% increase in the last budget. That includes 71% of Republicans, 68% of independents and 37% of Democrats. Only 3% want to repeat the last budget’s 15% increase. (5/5)

🚨NEW POLL: Seven in ten Wisconsin voters say the state is in a cost-of-living crisis, three-quarters say their income has fallen behind inflation, and 42% name inflation and cost of living as the single most important issue heading into November’s governor’s race. Affordability dwarfs every other concern, according to an April 10–14 survey of 800 registered voters by RMG Research for @ReformingGovt and Napolitan News Service, but the poll’s deeper numbers show a candidate of either party could win by owning a credible affordability agenda. reforminggovernment.org/irg-poll-wisco… (1/5)

A new poll from the Institute for @ReformingGovt shows that what voters want most are lower taxes and dramatically reduced spending, which presents a clear opportunity for Republicans this fall. heartlandpost.com/new-irg-poll-s…

Whitewater, Wisconsin is a college town of about 15,000 people. Over roughly two years, about 1,000 migrants settled there. Local police, schools, and city officials absorbed the strain with little outside support and no coordination from state or federal government. The Institute for Reforming Government built the public record of what actually happened. That record eventually reached Congress. spn.org/irg-research-c…

Parents and taxpayers deserve transparency. That’s why we held an oversight hearing to get answers from DPI. But instead of accountability, officials dodged questions—and State Superintendent Jill Underly was nowhere to be found after being invited to testify. Parents deserve transparency when it comes to their child’s education.

From @DairylandSent earlier this week: "We have enlisted the legal assistance of the Institute for Reforming Government. Along with their efforts on behalf of Dairyland Sentinel, IRG also testified at Wednesday’s hearing about their concern that DPI is relying on DRC to skirt the law as it pertains to open meetings." Read more here: dairylandsentinel.com/dpi-balks-at-o…

Hopefully the authors introduce the bill again next year. These kids should come before bureaucracy. Or even better, maybe there's a chance yet if a tax deal is brokered soon that this can be included and foster kids, already facing daunting challenges in life, can get a win.

A bipartisan bill was introduced this year by @SenJacque and others. It should have been easy, even if it was late in the session. But the hearing was telling. The lone opposition on record? County Governments.

ICYMI: read this story from @NatalieYahr and @CarloniBrittany. It highlights a real missed opportunity for bipartisanship this year, that would have helped foster kids. wisconsinwatch.org/2026/04/wiscon…

DPI cannot lower academic standards in secret and simply expect parents and students to accept the outcome. Working groups created by DPI are not exempt from Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Laws. Taxpayers funded this process, but DPI shut them out. A state agency doesn’t get to spend public dollars, make consequential decisions, and then hide the process from public scrutiny. wpr.org/news/republica…

Republican lawmakers say Wisconsin DPI violated open meetings law with Dells trip wpr.org/news/republica…

State Superintendent Jill Underly skipped a hearing on DPI's potential Open Meetings Law violation during its infamous water park retreat and the official she sent in her place struck a defiant tone. heartlandpost.com/underly-absent…

The defiance and dismissive attitude from DPI here is STUNNING. Our public school managers literally quoted Animal House as one of they reasons they hid testing decisions (and a $400k waterpark weekend) from parents and lawmakers.