Next job creator in Wisconsin? Bail bondsmen
By Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel
The budget that the Legislature handed Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday night includes a provision that would set up a system of bail bondsmen in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin hasn't had a bail bondsmen system since 1979. The provision was included in the budget legislation over the objections of law enforcement and some judges, who felt the current system is better.
John R. Storck, chief judge of the 6th Judicial District and chair of the Committee of Chief Judges in Wisconsin, has urged Walker to veto the measure, and said all of the chief judges in the state felt the same way.
"Anytime you place profit-driven organizations in control of an individual's liberty, corruption must be a major concern," wrote Storck. "The bail system unfairly penalizes low-income defendants who can't afford the un-refundable fee. It subverts the justice system, because defendants who can afford to buy their freedom - even those that may pose a relatively greater risk - are free to go at a much lower cost than under the current system."
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Dennis Bartlett, the executive director of the American Bail Coalition, a group advocating in favor of bail bondsmen in Wisconsin, says he was told Walker is supporting the legislation.
He also said that the industry is a job creator. He said that, once the system is in place in Wisconsin, it would create 1,500 jobs around the state. The state will also get revenue in the form of licensing fees, which Bartlett said would be $1,000 a person.
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/124066259.html
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