David Crowley promised Act 10 repeal, a BadgerCare option and universal pre-K in his first 30 days. A shrinking budget balance, a lost federal Medicaid bonus and a one-vote Senate cushion stand in the way.
David Crowley will be Wisconsin's first Black governor, with 18-15 and 53-46 majorities behind him. Bargaining rights, BadgerCare and school money top a long Democratic list, while two new constitutional amendments narrow the field.
Crowley carried Brown County, reportedly the first Democrat to do so since 1982, while Brandy Tollefson flipped the 88th and Green Bay's $158 million referendum passed. Gillett, Pulaski and Seymour voters said no.
Next Governor Inherits Green Bay Prison Closure, Now Priced at $585 Million and Slipping to 2032
Evers' plan to close Green Bay Correctional has climbed 80% in cost and slipped three years. Crowley and Tiffany offer different paths, and a draft bill from two Republican lawmakers offers a $628.7 million alternative.
Whoever wins Tuesday's governor's race, Democrat David Crowley or Republican Tom Tiffany, will take over a plan to close Green Bay Correctional Institution that has climbed from $325 million to $585 million since Gov. Tony Evers proposed it in February 2025. The finish line has moved too. Evers' office now says the work won't be done until late 2032 at the earliest, and the 2025-27 budget provided $15 million for planning and initial work.
The delay falls hardest on the people living and working inside. The Department of Corrections' Sept. 4 report counted 1,131 people in a prison with a design capacity of 749. Officer and sergeant vacancy rates at Green Bay and Waupun topped 25% as of August 2025, the Wisconsin Examiner reported. Allouez, home to the more-than-a-century-old prison, has spent over a decade seeking its closure in favor of a major redevelopment.
Where the $260 Million Went
The closure itself is the cheap part. Evers' plan moves people out of Green Bay by reshuffling the rest of the system, and the governor's own breakdown shows those projects driving the increase:
Waupun Correctional, converted to a 600-bed medium-security "vocational village": $245.3 million to $382.3 million
Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center in Hobart, 200 more minimum-security beds and a kitchen remodel: $56.3 million to $96.1 million
Stanley Correctional, converted to maximum security: $8.8 million to $62.9 million
Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, converted to a 500-bed men's prison: $9 million to $40 million
Green Bay decommissioning: $6.3 million to $3.1 million
Waupun alone accounts for more than half of the increase. The estimates also assume the state can stabilize a prison population that has hit a record 23,920, using the Earned Release Program and a new vocational option that needs legislative approval. Wisconsin Watch reported in September that the count, then 23,870, was just over 6,000 beyond capacity. Evers' office says the yearly cost of housing one person has risen more than $10,000 over five years.
A Fight Over Who Caused It
Evers blames a nearly 20-month legislative delay and says the plan was cheapest when first proposed. Republicans and local officials reject that math. Allouez Village President Jim Rafter told FOX 11 that Turner Construction data shows nonresidential building costs up about 8%, which by his count explains about $26 million and leaves about $234 million unaccounted for. "That is not construction inflation," Rafter said.
Rep. Benjamin Franklin, R-De Pere, told FOX 11 that Evers didn't request realignment money until the most recent budget, despite a 2020 outside engineering report calling the prison structurally unsafe. Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, told The Center Square the administration underestimated its own plan. Sen. Jamie Wall, D-Green Bay, spread the blame more widely, telling FOX 11, "We kicked the can down the road quite a bit on this." He wants the prison closed before 2032 and says the plan remains far cheaper than a new mega prison.
Franklin and Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, have a draft bill, described as bipartisan, estimated at $628.7 million in bonding for seven facilities. It would close Green Bay no sooner than four years after passage, around 2031, add a net 530 beds and list the property for sale within 90 days after operations end. It includes $180 million at Taycheedah for 180 beds, 100 of them for people with mental health needs and 30 for mothers and infants. The two plans aren't directly comparable. The draft budgets $9 million for the same Lincoln Hills conversion Evers' office now prices at $40 million, and its bond total was still being refined when it was presented in September.
Where Crowley and Tiffany Stand
Tiffany told WBAY Green Bay "needs to be taken care of" and proposed using existing assets, such as turning Lincoln Hills into a medium-security prison. He said he's open to building a new prison and opposes cutting the prison population in half. Wisconsin Watch reported he has said he'd rescind Evers' commutation executive orders and wouldn't release violent offenders early. Franklin puts a new mega facility at $1 billion to $1.3 billion.
Crowley told WBAY that closing the prison means working with legislators and the community, and he pointed to his past work on closing Lincoln Hills. He said reducing the prison population wouldn't solve the problem alone. In WBAY's final-weekend report, he said the state should also examine probation and parole, noting that Wisconsin keeps people on supervision longer than most states, and he stressed support for prison guards. Wisconsin Watch reported that he favors mental health services, substance use treatment and job training for nonviolent offenders and wouldn't commute sentences for murder.
The final Marquette Law School poll, conducted Oct. 14 to 22, had Crowley ahead 51% to 44% among likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 points.
David Crowley promised Act 10 repeal, a BadgerCare option and universal pre-K in his first 30 days. A shrinking budget balance, a lost federal Medicaid bonus and a one-vote Senate cushion stand in the way.
David Crowley will be Wisconsin's first Black governor, with 18-15 and 53-46 majorities behind him. Bargaining rights, BadgerCare and school money top a long Democratic list, while two new constitutional amendments narrow the field.
Crowley carried Brown County, reportedly the first Democrat to do so since 1982, while Brandy Tollefson flipped the 88th and Green Bay's $158 million referendum passed. Gillett, Pulaski and Seymour voters said no.
The last Marquette Law School Poll before Nov. 3 puts Crowley ahead 51% to 44% among likely voters. Less-certain voters lean Tiffany, and Trump's approval in Wisconsin hit a record low.
