Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
I want to thank Franklin Alderman Steve Olson for joining me this morning live on Newstalk 1130 WISN as I subbed for Jay Weber. Olson discussed the reaction of some officials to the tough ordinances that have been passed in Franklin and other Wisconsin communities restricting where sex offenders can live. Apparently some hand-wringers worry that the ordinances are too restrictive, making them ripe to be ruled unconstitutional.
Olson was one of the main architects of the Franklin ordinance. It states that no sexually violent person on supervised release may live within two thousand feet of any of the following:
a. Any facility for children which means a public or private school, a group home, a residential care center for children and youth, a shelter care facility, a foster home, a treatment foster home, a day care center licensed under, a day care program, a day care provider, or a youth center.
b. Any facility used for:
1. a public park, parkway, parkland, park facility;
2. a public swimming pool;
3. a public library;
4. a recreational trail;
5. a public playground;
6. a school for children;
7. athletic fields used by children;
8. a movie theatre;
9. a daycare center;
10. the Milwaukee County Sports Complex and grounds;
11. a ski hill open to the public;
12. any specialized school for children, including, but not
limited to a gymnastics academy, dance academy or
music school;
13. a public or private golf course or range; and
14. aquatic facilities open to the public.
No person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense and/or a crime against children, shall be permitted to reside in the City of Franklin unless the person lived in the City of Franklin at the time of the offense resulting in the person’s most recent conviction for committing the sexually violent offense and/or crime against children.
No person who has been convicted of or has been found delinquent of or has been found not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect of a sexually violent offense and/or a crime against children shall enter or be present upon any real property upon which there exists the above mentioned areas such as schools, day care centers, etc. Exceptions are when the properties are churches, synagogues or other houses of worship, polling places, and elementary and secondary schools the offenders are reasonably required to attend for educational purposes.
Olson told me on WISN that he and his colleagues on the Common Council consulted extensively with Franklin’s legal team. Five public hearings were conducted. In other words, the ordinance got thorough scrutiny before being approved and Olson believes it would pass constitutional muster. There are, as I mentioned, the hand-wringers.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Mel Flanagan is a member of a special Legislative Council Study Committee working on the placement of sex offenders. She told the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel, “If everyone in Milwaukee County adopted these ordinances, the only place that would be left for them to live would be River Hills. I don't think many can afford that."
Forgive me if I fail to shed a tear.
Flanagan said every state in the country is dealing with the pressure for residency requirements. "In one community in Arizona, they set up a trailer at the end of an airport runway because that was the only spot available," Flanagan said.
Again, my heart bleeds.
Is Flanagan truly worried about the legality of these restrictive ordinances, or is she sympathetic towards the offenders and more concerned about finding a place for them to live? At the September 14, 2006 meeting of the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Placement of Sex Offenders, Flanagan said she supported a greater use of Huber facilities to house offenders. Think about it. Franklin has a Huber facility. It’s called the House of Corrections.
Franklin’s ordinance is modeled after a similar law in Iowa. The dispute over the Iowa law has gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
I applaud Franklin for continuing to fight, not only for its parents and children, but for parents and children statewide. Olson told me Franklin is the model for the state, with many community officials calling Franklin to ask for guidance. If Franklin’s past experience is any indication, if anyone wants to do away with the city ordinance, they’ll have an all-out battle on their hands.
In the end, I share the sentiments of South Milwaukee Alderman Richard Radunez. Seeing what has transpired in Franklin, Radunez is working to pass a Franklin-type ordinance in his city. "My constituents are saying that it's about time,” Radunez said. “They're sick of the state putting these offenders in our city without us even knowing about it. I've heard people say, 'Put them all on an island out in the middle of the lake.' "
Exactly.
