WJI's Daily Reads for Jan. 13th, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:  Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson announces plan to reduce gun violence, car thefts, and reckless driving.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Clerk John Barrett to retire.

The Progressive Magazine: Electronic monitoring is not reform.

First, electronic monitoring is not so much an alternative to incarceration as it is an alternative form of incarceration. All that electronic monitoring changes is the location where the incarceration is taking place. 

Under electronic monitoring, defendants are surveilled constantly (many monitoring devices come with surveillance microphones attached), and they are confined to their homes unless they receive pre-approval to go out. Pre-approval often must be sought days in advance and is inconsistently granted even for the most routine activities. 
During my time working as an academic advisor to incarcerated people, there were a number of occasions when defendants on electronic monitoring told me they had been forced to fail their slate of classes for the semester because they could not obtain permission to attend. Further, they were frequently denied permission to go to work, causing them to lose their jobs and become unable to financially support themselves.

Much like a traditional prison, electronic monitoring restricts defendants’ movements, revokes their privacy, and jeopardizes their jobs and social relations. 
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Vox: U.S. Supreme Court to hear campaign finance case brought by Ted Cruz.

And that brings us back to the Ted Cruz for Senate lawsuit. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wants the Supreme Court to strike down the limit on loan repayments to federal candidates. That decision could potentially enable any lawmaker to make a high-dollar, high-interest loan to their campaign, and then use that loan as a vehicle to funnel donations directly into their pocket. 

NBC: Rep. Matt Gaetz's ex-girlfriend testified to a grand jury on Wednesday.