Michael Grebe

Bradley Foundation Has Become Less Local

Much less money for Wisconsin, more board members from outside state.

Geenen Challenges Walker-Appointed Judge

Bill Brash’s campaign email promises he will be a conservative, links him with Dan Kelly.

Pro-Ballpark Funding Coalition Launched

Home Crew Coalition backing $290 million state subsidy for Milwaukee Brewers stadium.

New Gallery of Honor exhibit to be permanently installed at Milwaukee County War Memorial Center

War Memorial Center announces the public phase of its $500,000 campaign to build a Wisconsin Medal of Honor exhibit

Bradley Foundation Spreads The Big Lie

Foundation gets ever more radical, using tax exempt funding to bankroll groups undermining democracy.

Evers Can Remake UW Regents Board

After 3 new appointments up in May, he will have picked majority of board.

Foley Firm Faces Blowback on Trump Call

Criticism of Milwaukee firm whose partner Cleta Mitchell helped Trump effort to "find" votes in Georgia.

Right-Wing vs Left-Wing Lawyers

WILL has more funding, more staff, more Harvard. Can a new liberal law group compete?

Campaign Cash Keeps Flowing to WILL’s Shill Dan Kelly

Over $14,000 from Board Members of Right-Wing Legal Group to State Court Justice’s Campaign

Regent’s UW President’s Search Criticized

Search committee includes no faculty, staff or non-regent students.

Bradley Foundation Works to Kill Food Aid

And reduce Medicaid. Working with Koch groups, they push Trump to slash safety net.

What Price Justice, Dan Kelly?

Sitting Court Justice Took Campaign Contributions from Board Members of Group Representing Plaintiffs While Deciding Their Case

Private School Voucher Backers Top $7.5 Million in Donations to Wisconsin Politicians

Pro Private School Voucher Gov. Walker Snags More Than 1 in 4 Dollars Donated Since 2008

Scott Walker: Wisconsin’s $100 Million Man

‘No Wisconsin Politician Has Raised More Campaign Cash For Himself or Been More Willing to Sell Us Out For a Campaign Contribution’

One Wisconsin Now Database Exposing Bradley Foundation Funding of Right Wing Propaganda Machine Goes Live Online

Comprehensive, Searchable Database of Who Massive Right Wing Funder Supported and How Much They Gave

Gov. Scott Walker Campaign Chair Helped Fund Project Veritas Sleaze

Bradley Impact Fund Contributed $25,000 to Group That Ran Sting Operation to Support Accused Pedophile Roy Moore

At Least 925,000 Reasons Why Right-Wing Florida Group Produces Campaign-Style Video Promoting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Walker 2018 Election Bid Kicks Off With Bradley Foundation Once Again Writing Checks to Support His Ambitions

University of Wisconsin Board of Regents Threatens Students Free Speech

Poised to Enshrine Right Wing Attack on Campus Speech as University Policy

Leah Vukmir Announces Steering Committee for U.S. Senate

GOP Leaders across Wisconsin unite to support Leah

Gov. Walker’s Favorite Right Wing Foundations Funding Gov. Walker’s Favorite Professor

‘Add Professor Williams to the List of Their Pro-Walker Expenditures’

No Politics at $900 Million Right Wing Bradley Foundation?

Email Undermines Former Bradley Head’s Allegation He Was ‘Careful’ to Separate Politics from Day Job

Bradley Foundation Breaking the Law?

Hacked files show foundation may violate ban on political activity.

Why Republicans Couldn’t Beat Evers

The incumbent superintendent was vulnerable. Why the GOP stumbled.

Voucher Money to Republicans Buys Voucher Cartel More of Our Money

New Memo Shows Voucher Students Get $1,000 More Than Public School Students

Has Private School Voucher Pander Paid Off for John Humphries?

Candidate for Superintendent of State Public Schools Snags His Largest Campaign Contribution, Tied to Major Backer of Private Voucher Schools, Days After Proposing Massive Increase in State Subsidy to Private Voucher Schools

The Many Faces of Charlie Sykes

He’s spent his whole career changing his views. So which should we believe?

Lowell Holtz Going Flip for Flop With John Humphries in Race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Holtz Publicly Expressed Enthusiasm to Implement the Common Core Academic Standards That He Now Declares Must Be Fought

Records Reveal State Public School Chief Hopeful Donated to Gov. Scott Walker’s Recall Election Opponent

Whose Side is John Humphries On? His Own.

Why Would Gov. Walker’s Campaign Chair Host Fundraiser for Walker Recall Petition Signer John Humphries? Follow the Money.

Right-Wing Kingpin Who Spent Over $100 Million to Fight For More Public Funding For Less Accountable Private Voucher Program Makes a Deal in Public School Superintendent Race

Charlie Sykes’ Bullying, Racism, Sexism and Propaganda to Advance Wisconsin Republicans on Milwaukee Right Wing Radio Comes to an End

‘Goodbye and Good Riddance’ to Conservative Mouthpiece and Broadcasting Bully

The Rise of Scott Walker

Journal Sentinel’s lo-o-ng series struggles to explain it -- but omits the newspaper's role.

Gov. Walker’s Administration Maintains Billboards Only for Voter Intimidation, Not Voter Education

State rejects multiple suggestions for enhanced education outreach to help legal voters vote.

Security Tight for Sykes Book Talk

Boswell hires security guards, but book talk was dull affair, it turns out.

Racism Issue Dogs Bradley Foundation

Does foundation still support research on racial inferiority?

SHOT/CHASER: Rebecca Bradley: The Republican Party of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Justice

It's time to acknowledge Justice Rebecca Bradley's close and personal involvement with the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Judge Joe Donald slams Rebecca Bradley’s hyper-partisan campaign tactics

Asks other candidates to join in new pledge to forgo special interest money & partisan help

8 Reasons Wisconsin Has National GOP Clout

Few states have such power in Republican presidential politics.

The Walker Campaign “Scandal”

Something went wrong. And everyone’s blaming campaign manager Rick Wiley. Why?

Gov. Scott Walker, now presidential candidate, hosts private reception with mega supporters

Michael Grebe, Stealth Warrior

Is the Bradley Foundation CEO the real thinker behind Scott Walker’s policies?

Governor Scott Walker Announces Several Appointments

Governor Scott Walker announced several appointments today, including Andrew “Drew” Peterson and Michael M. Grebe to the University of Wisconsin (UW) System Board of Regents; Julie Anderson and Dr. Frederick Prehn to the Natural Resources Board

In Defense of Historic Tax Credits

National Trust for Historic Preservation's leader comes to town, where her speech to a crowd filled with notables dramatized the need for state to maintain the current credits.

The Rise of the Kern Foundation

The Waukesha-based foundation has quietly grown to assets of $627 million, nearly as big as the Bradley Foundation. It also leans conservative.

The Decline of ALEC

The right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council, long a big influence on state legislatures and Wisconsin, is bleeding business support.

Has School Choice Led to Less Arts Funding?

Donations to arts groups have plummeted while giving to education has soared. Why?

How Conservatives Screwed Walker

They supported releasing damaging Doe documents because they have bigger goals than Walker’s reelection.

Downtown Power Brokers Mull Expanded Convention Center

Leaders of Wisconsin Center and the Bradley Center consider key changes for downtown facilities.

The House of Hank the Dog

The Brewer's canine mascot has a nine-room Whitefish Bay home and 10,000 square foot lot to roam in, all worth $570,000.

Republican Spat Exposes Party’s Divisions

Fight between Sensenbrenner and Ron Johnson over Obamacare is fascinating, revealing.

Mike Grebe’s Conservative Cudahy Condo

It's just a short walk from the Bradley Foundation, where Grebe battles daily to turn us all conservative.

The New Right-Wing Media

The state is a national leader in creating new conservative publications.

Abele and Other Pols Push Gay Rights

Gay activist Daniel Choi comes to Milwaukee three days before his trial for protesting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The Curious Case of Stephen Einhorn

The man who “feared” for his family’s privacy is a political activist and capital insider grabbing government funding for his company.

Will Art Museum Dump Stephen Einhorn?


The wealthy funder of voter fraud billboards creates negative publicity for Milwaukee Art Museum.

Greedy Grebe — Bradley Foundation Pays Boss Big $

An article in the Journal of Philanthropy noted that Michael W. Grebe, the former managing partner of Foley & Lardner took an unusual approach to retirement, in that he did not. Instead, the man went right to work running the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc., the Milwaukee charitable organization with 2003 assets of $579,976,984. One thing he learned over the years at Foley is how to bring in the big bucks. Retirement does not appear to have sapped his earning power very much. In 2002 Grebe received $292,246 salary from the foundation for his 40 hours of work each week in the Lion House on N. Franklin Place. He also received employee benefit plans and deferred compensation of $34,555. Not bad pay for a retired guy — albeit one who worked forty hours each week in a mansion surrounded by artwork on loan from the Milwaukee Art Museum — artwork we have written about in the past that had been contributed to the museum, we had thought, for the benefit of the public and not for the benefit of retired corporate lawyers. Grebe must be an indefatigable retired person, since his 2003 salary from the Bradley Foundation was raised to $529,333 and his benefits increased to $42,000. How to explain the $237,000 raise in just one year? Well, according to the foundation’s IRS form 990PF, President Grebe now is listed as working 50 hours a week instead of 40. (Like we say, indefatigable.) So, if you look at it this way, his raise is not that much — in 2002 he made $140.50 per hour, and in 2003 he made $203.58 per hour. Let’s hope Foley and Lardner has a retirement program for its retired partners that will help guys like Grebe stay afloat in these difficult times. SCHOOL OF EASY KNOX Chipstone Foundation a Financial Bonanza for Milwaukee Big Shot Lawyers Foley & Lardner partners don’t have to be retired to draw large outside incomes. Take the case of W. David Knox II, a descendant of the W. D. Hoard family of Fort Atkinson. (You know the people — they operate the National Dairy Shrine, an actual tourist attraction that has a nearly religious appeal for the lactose tolerant). He is listed as the President, CEO and Director of Milwaukee’s Chipstone Foundation in that organization’s IRS reports. In 2003, the foundation, dedicated to American furniture and English porcelains had assets of $55,358,295, not counting the furniture itself, which has been written off the books in accordance with usual accounting standards — although that has not stopped the foundation for selling millions of dollars of furniture whenever the trustees have a whim to do so. Knox received $3,000 for attending 10 directors and committee meetings of the foundation, which is peanuts compared to retired Foley and Lardner partner Allen M. Taylor, who received $144,000 for 35 hours a week work at the foundation in that year. Taylor also received $162,842 in contributions to employee benefit plans that year. (Back […]

Riemer: “Ready to Run”

This terse note from Riemer almost sounds like a Bill Christofferson soundbite, which means it's a good one.

Lautenschlager’s Fast Ones – Past Speeding Tickets Raise Residency Issues

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager exploits a legal loophole.

How Scott McCallum Plans to Raise Your Taxes

Sometime in the coming week, Gov. Scott McCallum will be meeting secretly with lobbyists in Minocqua, of all places, to discuss a plan to cut school spending and force property tax increases as a way to balance the state budget.