Free Republic

Sen. Jon Erpenbach says all 14 missing Senate Dems would return to the Capitol if Republicans pulled collective bargaining changes from the budget repair bill and instead put them in the guv's budget proposal. It's the latest suggestion for trying to break a partisan impasse that has gripped the Capitol since Dems fled to Illinois Feb. 17. Meanwhile, discussions continued between the guv's office and Senate Dems as talk swirled around whether a deal could be reached. Among the items said to be at play: the proposed inflationary cap on wage increases and the required annual recertification votes for public...

Paycheck mailed to Erpenbach With the paychecks for Senate Democrats cut off until they return from their boycott, Sen. Jon Erpenbach got creative. Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, appointed two of his staff members his power of attorney, which would allow them to collect his pay. On Feb. 22, GOP leaders voted to require members pick up their paychecks in person on the Senate floor. Erpenbach, who like his 13 Dem colleagues fled the state to stall a vote on the budget repair bill, is in Chicago. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald put the check in the mail instead of turning it over...

State Senator Jon Erpenbach (FLEE-Madison) tells Greta he'll have fun fun fun til mommy and daddy take the money away...

CHICAGO (AP) -- Democrats who fled Wisconsin to block a vote on a sweeping anti-union bill could stay in hiding for days or even weeks. Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach spoke to The Associated Press at a Chicago hotel on Friday.

A leading Wisconsin senator who fled to Chicago with fellow Democrats says they could stay out of Wisconsin for days or even weeks. Senate Democrats are boycotting a vote on a bill that would strip public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights. Click here to find out more! State Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton, Wis., is staying at a downtown hotel and expects to stay for days. He says there's no fixed date for Democrats to return although he hopes it's soon. He says returning when the Legislature is in session could give Wisconsin state troopers the chance to...