Prosecutors Charge Top Wisconsin Legislators

Leaders of Both Parties Accused of Felony Misconduct in Office

Milwaukee prosecutor David Feiss, center, files charges against Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala Thursday in Madison. (MORRY GASH AP)

MADISON, Wis., Oct. 18 -- The Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly and two other high-ranking GOP lawmakers were charged with misusing their public offices for political gain today, delivering a second blow to a state that was already reeling from the announcement Thursday of extortion and other criminal charges against the Democratic majority leader of the state Senate.

Speaker Scott Jensen and Assembly Majority Leader Steven M. Foti were charged with misconduct in public office, a felony, in connection with the hiring of a state employee who allegedly worked full-time as a campaign fundraiser for Republican legislative candidates. Jensen was also accused of misconduct for allegedly using the Assembly Republican Caucus to help GOP candidates and his own legislative staff to work on his reelection campaigns.

Jensen and Assistant Majority Leader Bonnie L. Ladwig were accused of the misdemeanor offense of misusing their public positions for the financial gain of a Republican campaign committee by having a state employee compile a list of campaign donations to the committee.

The charges, announced by Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, came a day after Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann, acting as a special prosecutor in an ongoing investigation of Wisconsin lawmakers, filed criminal charges against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala. The 20 felony counts against Chvala accuse him of extorting campaign contributions from lobbyists and of using the Senate Democratic Caucus and state employees to assist Democratic legislative candidates.

Jensen, the two other Republicans and Chvala all denied the charges against them.

The double blow to Wisconsin's pride as one of the centers of the reform-driven Progressive Movement of the early 20th century also threw the state's politics into turmoil less than three weeks before the Nov. 5 general election.

The political reaction was swift. Late today, Republican Gov. Scott McCallum called a special session of the state legislature for Nov. 13 to enact a Corrupt Practices Act, including a provision covering state government employees modeled on the federal Hatch Act.

"Today is a dark day in Wisconsin's history," said McCallum, who is seen as trailing Democratic Attorney General Jim Doyle in his race for reelection. "Only dramatic and meaningful reform will lift the cloud off the Capitol dome."

Bob Williams, a business executive who has advised several Republican governors, said McCallum could benefit from the scandal if he is seen acting decisively to counter it. "You can't make an issue in the last 17 days of the campaign, but if you're smart you can jump on it," he said.

But a Democratic operative who asked not to be identified said the advantage should remain with Doyle, who publicly called for Jensen and Chvala to resign before the criminal charges were announced. He said the biggest risk for Doyle was that the developments in Madison will so disgust Wisconsin voters that it will depress voter turnout, which usually benefits GOP candidates.

Democrats currently hold a three-seat advantage in the state Senate that could also be endangered by the charges against Chvala, who is not up for reelection this year. Political observers said they expected the GOP to maintain its control of the state Assembly and for Jensen, who represents one of the most Republican areas of the state, to win reelection.

Both Jensen and Chvala announced that they will leave their leadership posts within the next few weeks. Jensen and other Republicans also accused Blanchard, the Democratic Dane County prosecutor, of political motives in bringing the charges so close to Election Day.

"It appears that the timing of these charges has been blatantly and cynically manipulated for maximum political effect and not driven by any necessity of law," Jensen said in a letter to Assembly colleagues.

Today's charges stemmed from a more than year-long investigation into the alleged misuse of the legislative caucus organizations and staffs for partisan purposes. The first victim was Democratic Sen. Brian B. Burke, who was charged with 18 felonies last summer. The caucuses themselves were abolished early this year.

Speaking of Jensen and Chvala, University of Wisconsin political scientist Donald F. Kettl said, "It happened like an arms race. Candidates were depending more and more on legislative leaders to raise money, so that led to the concentration of power in the hands of the two leaders, who abused those powers more and more over time."

Kettl and others said the scandal was bound to damage Wisconsin's self-image as a center of good government. "The reputation of the state is in shambles," he said.

"We always looked on Wisconsin as pristine, progressive," added Williams. "It was not like Chicago, with shoe boxes full of money."

Walsh reported from Washington.