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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.
Sex offender ordinance update: City of Milwaukee
By Kevin Fischer
Wednesday, Jun 27 2007, 06:25 PM
Two Milwaukee aldermen are proposing a Franklin-like sex offender ordinance to be enacted in the city of Milwaukee.
According to a piece by Doug Hissom at OnMilwaukee.com:
“It would be virtually impossible for registered sex offenders to live in the City of Milwaukee under a plan by two aldermen to restrict where the offenders can live. Alds. Jim Bohl and Tony Zielinski propose to ban offenders from living or loitering within 2,000 feet of places "where children can expect to be found."
Besides schools, day care centers, and playgrounds -- places where children are sure to be found -- children can also be expected to be found at museums, libraries, grocery stores and shopping malls creating quite the swath of prohibited living and loitering space.
The aldermen say that the ordinance would cover places that the city designates as locations where children can be found. They suggest such locations as playgrounds, recreational trails, swimming pools and day care centers.
By calling them "child safety zones," the two are hopping on a bandwagon that continues to gain steam among communities who have suddenly found sex offender phobia. Menomonee Falls, Franklin and Glendale have recently passed similar ordinances.
"We are watching the surrounding communities fall like dominoes as they restrict sex offenders from relocating to their communities, and we too need our own restrictions to protect our families and our children, too," Zielinski said.
Bohl insists that the ordinance would withstand legal muster and the city attorney's office has helped in the drafting.
Keep in mind that some folks who have to register as sex offenders are not predators in the evil sense, but include 17-year-old men who have been convicted of having sex with their 15-year-old girlfriends and vice versa. It's a rare occurrence for sure, but nonetheless would be covered under the ordinance.
Since 2,000 feet is nearly a half-mile, most anywhere in the city is within a half-mile of any of the proposed child-friendly locations.
The two aldermen are showing some compassion in proposing that current offenders can stay in their dwellings and they also suggest an appeal process can be held in court.
Offenders who violate the ordinance can be fined $1,000 to $2,500.
The loitering penalties should raise a few questions among aldermen since the supposed "anti-gang" loitering ordinance -- which has yet to be signed by Mayor Tom Barrett -- caused them to ponder why the city's current rules aren't enough to stop loitering by anybody.
The Milwaukee proposal continues the recent trend of using sex offenders as a hot way to score political points. Offenders were an issue in many fall legislative campaigns and as a result are the subject of legislation requiring them to have green license plates, state restrictions on where they live, and other draconian measures.”
