https://www.facebook.com/435483533147563/

Great Lakes Urban Education and Empowerment

Home
United States
Milwaukee, WI
Great Lakes Urban Education and Empowerment

Directions

Posting on issues related to diversity in general and, more particularly, diversity in higher educati

Posting on issues related to diversity in general and, more particularly, diversity in higher education.

10/30/2026

Johnson, a senior administrator at the University of Alabama System, is the second woman to lead the Universities of Wisconsin and the first Black woman to serve in the role.
Story link in the first comment. 👇

10/30/2026

Four developments GLUE is watching in Milwaukee and across the Great Lakes:

1. Voting · Milwaukee
Today, Friday, October 30, is the last day to register at a City of Milwaukee early voting site. After today, register at your polling place on Election Day. Early voting runs through Sunday, November 1, at any city site: six sites are open Saturday and five on Sunday afternoon. Downtown streets are closed for today's Brewers parade, so a neighborhood site may be easier. Bring photo ID. Mail ballots must reach your clerk by 8 p.m. November 3.
city.milwaukee.gov/earlyvoting

2. Schools · Wisconsin
Voters in 72 Wisconsin school districts decide 79 referendums on November 3, seeking $1.6 billion. More than one-third of the state's districts have faced a school referendum this year; 16 that failed in April are asking again. Districts cite declining enrollment, inflation and general state aid held at $5.58 billion for a third year. Opponents say districts already receive more than $18,000 per pupil and that spending decisions are the issue. Largest operating requests: Green Bay $158 million, Middleton-Cross Plains $119 million, Janesville $98 million.
wpr.org/news/wisconsin-school-districts-referendums-nov-3-election

3. Students · Cleveland
Cleveland cut its public high schools from 27 to 14 this year, and seniors at merged schools are now ranked together. At the October 27 board meeting, students asked the district to also recognize each former school's top graduates; they did not ask to change grades. A John Hay senior from Campus International expects her rank to fall from first or second to 17th because her old school offered fewer advanced classes. Colleges use class rank for some merit scholarships. CEO Warren Morgan said no final decision has been made. A merger plan should cover transcripts and honors, not only buildings.
signalcleveland.org/cleveland-students-ask-cmsd-to-name-multiple-valedictorians-at-merged-schools/

4. Health · Chicago
Chicago's health department, Prism Health and United Way of Metro Chicago launched a two-year pilot bringing free blood-lead tests for children ages 1 to 3 to Englewood, West Englewood, South Chicago, Greater Grand Crossing, Auburn Gresham and New City. A mobile unit visits sites in November, then testing moves into day cares, schools, libraries, places of worship and community groups. No bill or copay; walk-ins welcome. Many young children in these neighborhoods have not been tested. The model: bring the test to where families already are.
news.wttw.com/2026/10/26/new-pilot-program-bring-childhood-lead-testing-six-south-side-neighborhoods

Access is the test: a registration desk open today, a ballot question voters can weigh, an honor that survives a merger, a blood test that comes to the child.

10/29/2026

Four developments GLUE is watching in Milwaukee and across the Great Lakes:

1. Schools · Milwaukee
Demolition of the fire-destroyed Lincoln Avenue School begins in November. City inspectors found the building could not be saved. TW Construction, chosen through public bidding, would oversee demolition through winter and grass planting in spring; the school board votes on the vendor this week. Information sessions: Thursday, November 5, noon–1 p.m. or 4:30–5:30 p.m., Mitchell Street Library, 906 W. Historic Mitchell St., with Spanish interpreters. MPS has not released plans for the site's future. The test: whether what replaces the school is planned in public, too.
mpsmke.com/lincoln

2. Voting · Milwaukee
Today, Thursday, October 29, at 5 p.m. is the deadline for most voters to request a mail ballot. Tomorrow, Friday, October 30, is the last day to register at an early voting site; after that, register at your polling place on Election Day. City of Milwaukee early voting ends Sunday, November 1; hours vary by site. Bring photo ID. Mail ballots must reach your clerk by 8 p.m. November 3 and can be dropped off at an early voting site.
city.milwaukee.gov/earlyvoting

3. Benefits · Cleveland
About 87,000 Cuyahoga County residents will face new Medicaid work requirements next year. About 17,500 fewer people receive SNAP than last summer; how many left because of federal changes is unknown. The county expects to lose $7.5 million to $10 million a year in federal administrative funding. Benefits staffing is down 13% since last October, average phone waits rose from about 20 to 40 minutes, and abandoned calls rose from 21% to 44%. Issue 11 on the November 3 ballot, a health and human services levy, would pay in part for more benefits workers and add $87.50 a year per $100,000 of property value. The county has not said how many it would hire.
signalcleveland.org/ohio-candidates-snap-medicaid-benefits-voter-guide-election-2026/

4. Zoning · Detroit
Detroit's City Planning Commission voted October 22 to recommend rezoning land around the Kronos concrete plant in Cadillac Heights from heavy to light industrial, which excludes concrete plants. The plant could keep operating at its current size; expansion would be blocked. Residents have filed about 80 complaints with city and state offices, many about dust. Owner Crown Enterprises objects and has threatened legal action; it says its air monitors have never exceeded city limits. City Council holds a public hearing November 19.
bridgedetroit.com/detroit-could-block-billionaire-owned-concrete-plant-from-further-neighborhood-expansion/

Every decision has a window: a demolition plan, a ballot deadline, a benefits phone line, a zoning hearing. The public's part is to use it while it is open.

10/29/2026

Four developments GLUE is watching in Milwaukee and across the Great Lakes:

1. Voting · Milwaukee
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29, at 5 p.m. is the deadline for most voters to request a mail ballot. You can still register at an early voting site through Friday, October 30; bring photo ID. City of Milwaukee early voting runs through Sunday, November 1, at any city site; hours vary. Mail ballots must reach your clerk by 8 p.m. November 3. With mail delays reported, drop a ballot off at an early voting site rather than mailing it late.
city.milwaukee.gov/earlyvoting

2. Utilities · Wisconsin
The winter moratorium bars utilities from cutting off residential heat for nonpayment from Sunday, November 1, through April 15. It does not restore households already disconnected: utilities need not reconnect until a payment arrangement is made, and the debt remains. Call We Energies at 800-842-4565 to set up a plan; if there's no agreement, call the Public Service Commission at 800-225-7729. Energy assistance (WHEAP): 866-432-8947. The test: who is still without heat on November 1.
milwaukeenns.org/2026/10/27/the-pause-on-utility-cutoffs-begins-nov-1-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

3. Budget · Milwaukee
MPS moved the final meeting of its Budget Advisory Committee from tonight to Thursday, November 5, 6–9 p.m., at Central Services, 5225 W. Vliet St., Room 206, citing public participation and tonight's World Series game. Afterward the district will publish the committee's recommendations and take written comment through November 25. The committee advises; the superintendent builds the 2027–28 budget, and the board votes in early 2027. Context: about $430 million in critical repairs deferred. The test: budget priorities in public before closure decisions.
wispolitics.com/2026/milwaukee-public-schools-mps-superintendents-budget-advisory-committee-is-rescheduled-to-meet-nov-5/

4. Libraries · Detroit
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti proposed $8.7 million in one-time funds to open libraries in 89 Detroit schools: up to 4,000 books each, furniture, a cataloging system and initial staffing. Staffing them three periods a day would then cost about $5 million a year. It is part of a $251 million package that also adds air conditioning to 15 schools and accessibility upgrades at 22. The board is expected to vote in November or December. The open question: who staffs the libraries once the startup money is spent.
chalkbeat.org/detroit/2026/10/26/detroit-schools-propose-bringing-libraries-back-to-89-schools/

A date protects the public only if the public can act on it: the ballot request, the heat cutoff, the budget meeting, and the year after the startup money runs out.

10/27/2026

Four developments GLUE is watching in Milwaukee and across the Great Lakes:

1. Governance · Milwaukee
The City of Milwaukee withdrew its appointee, Jackie Q. Carter, from the Social Development Commission board Friday. In an October 23 letter, the mayor's chief of staff, Nick DeSiato, wrote that the city sees no "clear and credible path" for SDC to restore services, citing governance, transparency and documentation, and the separation of board oversight from executive management. The city is the fourth appointing body to step back; MPS, United Way and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council say they won't fill their seats. Five of 18 seats remain filled. Chair and interim CEO Jorge Franco did not respond to NNS. Disclosure: GLUE founder Walter Lanier is an SDC commissioner and one of the five.
milwaukeenns.org/2026/10/26/city-of-milwaukee-pulls-commissioner-from-sdc-board-in-latest-loss-of-support/

2. Voting · Milwaukee
Last week of early voting. City residents can use any early voting site through Sunday, November 1; hours vary. Register at a site through Friday, October 30; bring photo ID. Most voters must request a mail ballot by 5 p.m. Thursday, October 29. Mail ballots must reach your clerk by 8 p.m. November 3 and can be dropped off at an early voting site.
city.milwaukee.gov/earlyvoting

3. Schools · Wisconsin
Siren, Dodgeville, Gillett and Winter school officials say they may have to consider dissolving if November 3 operating referendums fail. Voters statewide decide 78 school referendums in 71 districts. General school aid has held at $5.58 billion for a third straight year, with no inflation increase. No district has dissolved since 1990; a state board is expected to rule on Hustisford's dissolution in November. Milwaukee weighs closures; these districts weigh whether to exist. Same state formula.
wpr.org/news/rural-school-districts-dissolution-november-referendums

4. Privacy · Cleveland
Cleveland's school district dropped a planned $603,000 Flock Safety renewal and suspended its 201 license plate cameras at 62 schools. An audit found outside law enforcement searched the district's data more than 130,000 times before outside sharing ended July 7; this summer the district had told Signal Cleveland only its security staff and Cleveland police had access. It cited privacy, cost-benefit and law enforcement input, and keeps nearly 5,000 security cameras. The test: who can search the data, and who checks.
signalcleveland.org/cmsd-kills-flock-contract-ahead-of-planned-vote/

An institution keeps public trust by what it can show in writing: who governs, how to vote, what the budget can carry, who can see the data.

10/26/2026

Four developments GLUE is watching in Milwaukee and across the Great Lakes:

1. Schools · Milwaukee. MPS has moved tonight's Great Schools Committee meeting to Wednesday, November 4, and added two more. All run 6 to 8 p.m.: November 4 at Starms Discovery Learning Center, 2035 N. 25th St.; November 9 at Brown Street Academy, 2029 N. 20th St.; November 16 at North Division High School, 1011 W. Center St. The district cited turnout and World Series conflicts. The committee advises; the superintendent and school board decide. Correction: our October 21 issue called October 26 the committee's last scheduled meeting. milwaukeepublicschools.org/about/news/detail/~board/stories/post/great-schools-meeting-moved

2. Youth · Milwaukee. Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) says more than 400 high school and college students have taken part this year through school chapters, fellowships and citywide meetings. Its paid summer institute, Black Hogwarts, builds organizing, public speaking and writing skills. At a recent LIT session, students studied Act 12, the law that returned police officers to MPS schools. LIT's high school focus is the MPS–Milwaukee Police agreement in effect since early 2025. The test: whether students' input reaches the agreement itself. thefulcrum.us/civic-engagement-education/leaders-igniting-transformation-milwaukee-youth

3. Voting · Wisconsin. On October 23 a federal judge dismissed the U.S. Justice Department's suit for Utah's unredacted voter list, which holds partial Social Security and license numbers. It is the department's 27th loss in district court in these suits; Utah's elections chief, Republican Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, had refused the demand. Wisconsin's case was dismissed in May, when Judge James Peterson ruled federal law did not entitle the department to the unredacted list. Check your registration before November 3: myvote.wi.gov utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/10/23/judge-dismisses-doj-lawsuit-against-utah-lieutenant-governor-demanding-private-voter-information/

4. Stewardship · Wisconsin. About 220 people attended an intertribal Manoomin (wild rice) camp in Manitowish Waters in mid-September to learn harvesting and processing. Esiban Parent of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission called traditional knowledge of the land "our kind of science." Wild rice has declined across the Great Lakes, driven by climate change, pollution, changing water levels and runoff. Organizer Sagen Quale of the Red Cliff Band named Enbridge's Line 5 as a threat to habitat and water. wpr.org/culture/intertribal-manoomin-camp-traditional-teachings

Trust grows where people can see the process and join it: a meeting moved into the neighborhood, students at the table, a voter's record protected, knowledge passed hand to hand.

10/24/2026

Four developments GLUE is watching in Milwaukee and across the Great Lakes:

Voting · Wisconsin

First-day early in-person voting Tuesday was 65% higher statewide than at the same point in 2022: up 63% in Milwaukee County, 60% in Dane and 87% in Kenosha. Mail ballots returned were down nearly 26% statewide and about 31% in Milwaukee County amid reports of slower mail. A mail ballot must reach your clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3. Milwaukee early voting runs through Sunday, November 1: city.milwaukee.gov/earlyvoting
wpr.org/news/in-person-absentee-voting-surges-amid-declines-in-ballots-arriving-by-mail

Governance · Milwaukee

The Social Development Commission's board is down to six of 18 seats after MPS appointee Michael Harris resigned October 15; Superintendent Brenda Cassellius wrote that MPS won't name a successor "at this time." That day's meeting on bankruptcy options lacked a quorum. A $472,000 suit by contractor TriShulla was dismissed October 15. The state Department of Workforce Development seeks $370,658 in unpaid wages and benefits for former workers; a hearing is set for December 16. Chair Jorge Franco has said SDC will pay when it has resources. Disclosure: GLUE founder Walter Lanier is an SDC commissioner.
milwaukeenns.org/2026/10/21/lawsuit-updates-board-resignations-and-more-heres-the-latest-on-sdc/

Turnout · National

Saturday, October 24, is the first National Black Man Voter Day, led by the NAACP, National Urban League, 100 Black Men of America and partners. The goal is 100,000 Black men, reached through barbershops, faith gatherings, fraternities and campuses. The ask: make a voting plan, confirm your site, arrange a ride, bring another man. The coalition says it does not endorse or oppose candidates or parties.
naacp.org/articles/national-black-man-voter-day-set-october-24th-coalition-launches-week-action

Cleanup · Cleveland

Cleveland logged more than 5,000 illegal-dumping reports through 311 in the past year, while citations fell nearly 50% over six years, per task force data. Legislation introduced October 12 would make dumping a civil violation as well as a crime, let waste collectors and Public Works staff who witness it write citations, and fund cameras at hotspots. Metro West Community Development Organization reports hauling about 440,000 pounds of debris since July. The test: whether enforcement reaches dumpers, not only the neighbors who clean up.
signalcleveland.org/cleveland-sees-thousands-of-illegal-dumping-reports-as-citations-drop-by-50/

Voters are showing up early. The question for institutions is whether they can keep pace: a full board, a paid workforce, a citation that matches the complaint.

10/22/2026

Four developments GLUE is watching in Milwaukee and across the Great Lakes:

1. Zoning · Milwaukee
Milwaukee has paused new data centers for one year. The Common Council voted 13-0 on October 13, and Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed the ordinance the next day. The pause covers projects of any size and expansions of existing ones; it ends after a year or when permanent rules pass, with a possible six-month extension. The Department of City Development will draft standards on noise, energy, water and air quality. MMAC opposed the pause, calling it a "we're not open for business" sign. The rules are the decision; the year is the window to shape them.
wpr.org/news/milwaukee-pause-data-center-projects

2. Voting · Milwaukee
Early in-person voting for the November 3 election runs through Sunday, November 1, at 11 sites. City of Milwaukee residents can use any site. Hours vary by site and day; several close on weekends, and five are open Sunday, November 1. You can register at an early voting site through Friday, October 30. Bring a valid photo ID. Check the schedule before you go: city.milwaukee.gov/earlyvoting
urbanmilwaukee.com/2026/10/21/how-to-vote-early-in-milwaukee-3/

3. Schools · Buffalo
Update: there was no vote. Interim Superintendent Ebony Prophet-Bullock withdrew the school-closure proposal at Wednesday's board meeting after testimony from students and educators. She said the district had not communicated its late revisions well: "We're not doing enough, and we will do better." Another forum is set for Monday, October 26, 5:30–7:30 p.m., at West Hertel School No. 94. No new vote date has been announced. Public testimony changed the timetable; the test is whether the extra time produces clearer information.
btpm.org/local/2026-10-22/buffalo-school-closure-vote-postponed-after-emotional-appeals-from-students-educators

4. Care · Chicago
Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed 2027 budget includes $5 million to make CARE, which sends mental health teams to certain 911 calls, a permanent city program. About $5.2 million in federal pandemic funds that paid for it ends this year. Johnson plans to draw on the city's social media tax, but that revenue, on pace for about $49 million this year, is held in escrow while the tax is challenged in court. The budget also proposes reopening a city mental health clinic; location and cost are not yet public. The question for any city: does a pilot have a permanent funding source?
wbez.org/health-medicine/2026/10/21/mayor-johnson-budget-seeks-to-reopen-city-mental-health-clinic-next-year

A pause, a postponement, a pilot: each buys time. What matters is what the public can see and shape before the time runs out

Address

8324 W. Keefe Avenue
Milwaukee, WI
53222

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Great Lakes Urban Education and Empowerment posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.