The Dane County Jail project heads toward a crucial vote

By Dan Fitch ● Politics ● April 18, 2023 April 18, 2023

As the County Board once again takes up the bloated project, don’t trust the powers that be on punishment.

Latest in Dane County Jail

This illustration shows the hand of presumably a law enforcement officer shining a light on an incarcerated person with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE officer in the room. The illustration demonstrates how local law enforcement informs ICE about noncitizens who come into contact with the carceral system.

Dane County’s lucrative relationship with ICE

By Christina Lieffring ● Politics ● January 31, 2023 April 12, 2023

Despite publicly distancing itself from aggressive immigration enforcement, the county has received a lot of federal money for law enforcement to inform on undocumented people.

An ultrasound with a pair of handcuffs and green highlights sits on a dark background with blue and red gradients on each side.

Declaring Dane County an “abortion sanctuary” doesn’t protect reproductive healthcare

By Karl Locher ● Politics ● December 1, 2022 April 12, 2023

Gestures from the County Board don’t (and mostly can’t) change Wisconsin’s legal landscape around abortion.

an illustration shows a brain divided into two halves, with a medical-style red cross in the middle.

Funding non-police mental health responses in Dane County is more important than ever

By Dan Fitch ● Politics ● November 3, 2022 April 12, 2023

DCSO is killing more people and asking for more money—but where’s the investment in alternate mental-health models?

A glowing box descends, about to block the exit of a pedestrian construction scaffolding that leads out into a sunny day. Spiderwebs, trash, and abstract building-like boxes climb around the scaffolding.

Digging into the latest opposition to a smaller Dane County Jail

By Dan Fitch ● Politics ● August 15, 2022 April 12, 2023

Dane County skirts meaningful reform and looks to bypass resistance to building a new jail.

A photo of a Progressive Lane street sign under a cloudy sky and a tree, covered with shadows from an encroaching set of abstract red jail bars, overlapping at strange angles.

Dane County’s jail project barrels down a familiar road, but there are always more off-ramps

By Dan Fitch ● Politics ● August 8, 2022 April 12, 2023

The County Board counts costs, Sheriff Barrett moves incarcerated people, and the Black Caucus recommends an alternative—as budget season heats up.

The Dane County Board pairs more jail funding with toothless calls for reform

By Dan Fitch ● Politics ● March 7, 2022 April 12, 2023

Another absurd, expensive, and politically craven turn in the drawn-out quest to build new cages.

New co-responder programs for mental health crises offer different approaches—including whether they send police to the scene

By Dan Fitch ● Dane County Jail ● February 23, 2022 April 12, 2023

Who can you expect to show up when you call for help in Madison?

A dotted purple cube opens up and a series of smaller purple cubes escape it, over a picture of 2020 protests near the jail in downtown Madison, with the street and sidewalks full of people. A sign reads "EXIT". Illustration by Dan Fitch. Photo by Oona Mackesey-Green.

Misframing decisions about the County jail does the public a disservice

By Dan Fitch ● Politics ● January 17, 2022 April 12, 2023

Dismantling is difficult. Making the same mistakes is easy.

Public health, public safety, and the people caught in the coils

By Dan Fitch ● Dane County Jail ● November 25, 2021 April 12, 2023

What’s in Dane County’s 2022 budget for care and incarceration.