How Walker Rode Private Prisons to the Top

The Nation: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is perhaps best known for dramatically weakening public and private unions in his state… Over Walker’s long career in state politics, he also accomplished another transformation: increasing Wisconsin’s incarceration rate while making sure private companies had a larger role managing those prisoners.”

“He rarely talks about it anymore, but Walker’s efforts as a young legislator didn’t just change the Wisconsin criminal justice system—they helped fill Walker’s campaign coffers with money from private prison operators as he ascended from the state legislature to the governor’s mansion.”