BURTON VOTES AGAINST REPUBLICAN TAX HIKE ON HOOSIERS
INDIANAPOLIS – Today, April 10, Indiana House Republicans passed Senate Bill (SB) 1 with an amendment that will potentially increase Hoosiers’ local income taxes by $1.1 billion annually while cutting police, fire, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and public school services by $1.4 billion over three years. While the bill was pushed through with very little time to review the possible fiscal impact, it’s clear that SB 1 will provide minimal property tax relief to Hoosiers. Republican leadership told Hoosiers it’s time to “tighten our belts” while discussing this legislation, despite House Democrats’ concerns that SB 1 will choke the life out of vital services provided by local governments.
State Rep. Burton (D-Evansville) issued the following statement after voting “no” on SB 1:
“Indiana cities and towns cannot thrive under SB 1. This is an attempt to defund critical services by reducing local governments’ budgets, while adding more parameters. Our local government will be forced to overcompensate by imposing income taxes to fund our first responders. Vanderburgh County will lose $45.14 billion over the next three years, money that would be going to schools, public safety, and paving roads. Rural, urban, and suburban communities will all be handed some very difficult decisions that will lead to less stable communities.
“Vanderburgh County relies on these resources and cutting that funding will only lead to more harm. We need to be proactive and recognize this is not sustainable for the future of Evansville and will only create more problems down the line.
“No one is championing this legislation besides legislators voting in favor. $300 is not worth the problems that are sure to come. Mayors, police chiefs, fire chiefs, and school superintendents are all concerned about this tax proposal. I agree property tax relief is needed, but not at the cost of our communities, and I want to continue to work with the legislature to find better solutions. Our state’s reserves are drying up, local governments may be forced to increase taxes, and there’s not much proposed to help everyday Hoosiers. I voted NO to SB 1.”
The bill now heads back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. During the House session on Wednesday, April 9, Gov. Mike Braun signaled that this was the Indiana GOP’s final property tax plan, despite House Democrats still working to make the bill better on the House floor via amendments which were all voted down by
Governor Braun Takes Steps to Improve Retention of Correctional Officers and Reduce Recidivism
INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Mike Braun today signed two executive orders centered around the Indiana Department of Correction.
The first executive order aims to help inmates secure gainful employment after they are released, to lower the rates of inmates going directly from incarceration to homelessness and reoffending.
The second executive order aims to improve working conditions for correctional officers with a comprehensive approach. Under this executive order, the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction will develop a comprehensive plan to improve employee retention, including collecting feedback about work environment and areas for improvement from employees, ensuring that employee training is providing new hires with the knowledge and skills they’ll need to perform, and using benchmarks and metrics tracked by facility to monitor employee turnover and identity areas for improvement.
Executive Order 25-46: Improving Opportunity and Reducing Recidivism by Improving the Path for Reentry within the Department of Correction
“Hoosiers are safer when inmates have a clear pathway toward gainful employment and stable housing after they are released. This executive order aims to lower the reoffending rate by helping formerly incarcerated individuals find work and avoid homelessness.” — Governor Mike Braun
Keeping Hoosiers safe from crime is always priority one for this administration on any issue of corrections and criminal justice.
Because a high percentage of crime is committed by individuals that have already been incarcerated, an important strategy to lower crime is to reduce recidivism, or reoffending among inmates after they have served their time.
One key factor to reduce recidivism is employment. Former inmates who are unable to maintain employment in the three years after release reoffend at a rate of 52%. For those who do maintain employment, that recidivism rate plummets to 16%.
Another factor is housing: inmates who are released as homeless are 50% more likely to reoffend.
This executive order aims to reduce the recidivism rate by improving employment pathways for formerly incarcerated individuals and working with community partners to secure temporary housing for individuals upon release.
Executive Order 25-47: Promoting Public Safety and Prison Security by Directing the Indiana Department of Correction to Implement Strategies to Improve Employee Retention
“Our corrections officers have a really tough job, and do it exceptionally well. Today, I’m taking action to make sure we retain our great correctional employees with a comprehensive approach to employee retention: we’ll be improving training, listening to employees’ feedback on their work environment and leadership effectiveness, and using data to identify high turnover areas where we can improve.” — Governor Mike Braun
Indiana Department of Correction employees oversee more than 24,000 inmates in 21 facilities, and more than 7,000 parolees.
Due to the demanding and sometimes dangerous nature of their work, correctional officers experience high levels of on-the-job stress and burnout.
This executive order is designed to improve employee retention in this important field.
This executive order directs the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction to develop a comprehensive strategy for improving employee retention, specifically including:
- Establishing benchmarks and quarterly reports related to employee turnover, with a breakdown by facility, parole district, business unit, and shift assignment to identify areas for improvement.
- Evaluating onboarding and training practices, including establishing a four-week ‘pre-service’ academic program followed by on-the-job training.
- Developing a comprehensive retention plan using employee surveys and exit interviews to gather feedback on working conditions and refine retention strategies.
Governor Mike Braun was a national leader on improving working conditions for correctional officers in the U.S. Senate; his bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act to improve working conditions and keep federal corrections officers safe was signed into law last year.
three Hoosiers, behaving badly
three Hoosiers, behaving badly
John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com
In the space of just a few days, these things happened.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, a self-identified Christian nationalist who makes up for his pronounced lack of gravitas, credentials and serious study with an unparalleled measure of unmerited moral arrogance, declined to say that his call for increased spending on faith-based programs from his office would rule out so-called “conversion therapy.”
Conversion therapy, which has been discredited throughout the medical community, calls for forcing the gayness out of LGBTQ human beings and making them deny who they are.
In a fine bit of reporting, The Indiana Citizen’s Juliann Ventura pressed Beckwith, again and again, on the question. In response, Beckwith did more weaving and pirouetting than a prima ballerina.
About the same time that Beckwith was doing his dance of evasion, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita issued what he must have thought was a real thigh-slapper.
On April 1, he posted a photo of him standing next to a Pride flag and another photo of him standing next to a flag that said, “Come and take it.”
Accompanying the photos were these words: “The Left wins… They have finally brainwashed me. I am taking down our ‘Come And Take It’ flag and replacing it with this one. April Fools!”
The best that can be said about Rokita’s jibe is that it shows that he’s as funny as he is ethical.
Given that he’s already been disciplined once by the Indiana Supreme Court for professional ethics violations and is under at least three more ethics investigations, that’s saying something.
Then there was U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana.
A former Health and Human Services employee approached Banks to complain that he’d been illegally fired from his job.
Banks had several graceful ways to deal with the situation.
He could have asked one of the staffers accompanying him to talk with the man and gather information from him. He could have said, “I’m sorry to hear that,” which would have committed him to nothing other than expressing sympathy for a fellow human being.
He even could have said nothing and just waited for the elevator doors to close.
Banks did none of those things.
Instead, he told the man that he “probably deserved” to lose his HHS job. When the man asked why Banks thought this, the senator from Indiana—a member of what once was considered the world’s greatest deliberative body—said it was because “you seem like a clown.”
Well, senator, with all due respect, you seem like a jerk.
None of these episodes reflects credit on these three men or the state they’re supposed to represent.
Indiana is and likely will remain a conservative state.
But most Hoosiers don’t equate being conservative with being rude, disrespectful or discourteous. They don’t take pleasure in making others feel small or feel bad about themselves.
Beckwith, Rokita and Banks clearly do.
Perhaps the incident that is the most painful of these three incidents is the one involving Banks.
The attorney general’s office in Indiana often has been occupied by cranks and creeps—Theodore Sendak and Curtis Hill come to mind—so Rokita’s ethical evasions aren’t the aberration they otherwise might be.
The lieutenant governor’s position always has been a kind of rest home for politicians, so seeing a non-entity such as Beckwith strive and strain to make himself and his office matter is like watching an ant try to lift an elephant.
But Banks holds the seat in the U.S. Senate the late Richard Lugar occupied with rare distinction for 36 years.
Dick Lugar was a Hoosier conservative to his core. He also was a man of impeccable courtesy. The thought of a U.S. senator using his position to treat a constituent—a fellow citizen—with disrespect would have horrified Lugar.
But Jim Banks is no Dick Lugar.
After his exchange with the HHS worker went viral, Banks doubled down, patting himself on the back for delivering a “hard truth.”
He seems to believe that holding an elected office entitles him to behave like a lout to the people he’s supposed to serve.
Sadly, Beckwith and Rokita—who, like Banks, are supposed to represent all Hoosiers, not just those who voted for them—agree with the so-called senator.
Where, oh where, do we Hoosiers find these people?
John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. The views expressed are those of the author only and should not be attributed to Franklin College.
Attorney General Todd Rokita gives robocallers another reckoning
Indiana warns 9 phone providers to stop unlawful robocall traffic or face legal consequences
Attorney General Todd Rokita and the 51 bipartisan Attorneys General of the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force notified nine voice service providers that they may be violating state and federal laws by continuing to route allegedly unlawful robocalls across their networks. These warning letters include information about the task force’s investigation and analysis of each provider’s illegal and/or suspicious robocall traffic.
“Hoosiers are fed up with these relentless robocalls that disrupt their lives and, worse, try to steal their hard-earned money or personal information,” said Attorney General Rokita. “Our office is staying on the offensive, using every tool at our disposal to shut down these scammers and protect Indiana families. If the telecom industry won’t clean up its act, we will.”
These letters continue Attorney General Rokita’s ongoing efforts to curb robocalls, which have included lawsuits, settlements, and penalties totaling millions of dollars against companies facilitating illegal call traffic. The latest action targets voice service providers suspected of knowingly routing scam calls
In addition to sending these warning notices and demanding that these companies stop transmitting illegal robocalls, the task force has also shared its concerns about these providers with it federal law enforcement partners, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The task force sent warning letters to the following companies:
Global Net Holdings. Global Net Holdings received at least 153 traceback notices for illegal and suspicious robocalls about government and financial imposters and impersonations, Amazon suspicious charges, credit card interest rate reductions, Medicare scams, Chinese package delivery scams, cable discount scams, utility disconnect scams, and others.
All Access Telecom. All Access Telecom received more than 356 traceback notices since the end of 2023 for illegal and suspicious robocalls about political impersonations, cable discount scams, government and financial imposters, Amazon suspicious charges, credit card “courtesy” calls, and others.
Lingo Telecom. Lingo received more than 105 traceback notices since the end of 2023 over robocalls involving Social Security imposters, utility disconnects, Amazon suspicious charges, student loans, and others.
NGL Communications. NGL Communications received at least 100 traceback notices since the end of 2023 for robocalls about COVID financial relief, student loan forgiveness, debt relief, DirecTV discounts, credit card interest rate reductions, and others.
Range. Range received more than 590 traceback notices since 2019 for robocalls about utilities rebates, Medicare advisors, financial impersonations and credit card interest rate reductions, auto warranties, and others.
RSCom Ltd. RSCom received nearly 1,000 traceback notices since 2019 for scam calls about tax relief, private entity imposters, utilities disconnects, travel scams, student loan forgiveness, and others.
Telcast Network. Telcast received at least 800 traceback notices about illegal and suspicious robocalls about financial and utility imposters, utilities rebates, Medicare advisors, Amazon, tax relief, and others.
ThinQTechnologies. ThinQ Technologies (known as Commio) received more than 500 traceback notices since 2019 about government imposters, debt relief/financing, loan approvals, Amazon suspicious charges, student loan forgiveness, DirecTV discounts, sweepstakes, and others.
Telcentris. Telcentris (known as Voxox) received more than 400 traceback notices since 2019 about scam calls about Social Security imposters, Amazon scam, student loans, and others.
Rokita and his office’s Data Privacy and Identity Theft team declared war on robocallers in 2021, filing a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against Startel Communication LLC, a now-banned gateway operation that allowed robocallers from India, the Philippines and Singapore to freely harass Hoosier phone lines. That same year, Rokita dismantled the massive Associated Community Services (ACS) telefunding operation, which swindled $110 million from 67 million consumers nationwide who thought they were donating to charities.
Attorney General Rokita’s leadership in the 51-member bipartisan Anti-Robocall Task Force has positioned Indiana at the forefront of national efforts to combat robocalls. Our office continues to collaborate with federal partners, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, to trace and eliminate illegal call networks.
Retail Food Establishment Inspection Report
University of Evansville Theatre presents LITTLE WOMEN
EVANSVILLE, IND. (04/09/2025) The University of Evansville Theatre announces the final installment of the 2024-2025 season with Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel, LITTLE WOMEN. This production opens at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Apr. 24, in the May Studio Theatre. Additional performances are at 7:30 p.m., on Apr. 25 and 26, and at 2:00 p.m., on Apr. 26 and 27. This award-winning playwright has once again treated her source material with mischievous freedom, and the result is a sparklingly fresh adaptation of a timeless classic. Jo March has no intention of being a typical Victorian lady! In fact, all the March sisters strive to be intelligent and imaginative young women, and all are forced to reconcile their own ambitions with society’s expectations. Using whip-smart dialogue, this modern adaptation is as intimate, endearing, and surprising as Alcott’s original novel was 150 years ago.
LITTLE WOMEN is directed by Maya Barry, a senior stage management major, from Marietta, Ga.; Guest Artist, Austin Kuhn ’20 serves as the scenic designer; Josie Madzik, a junior theatre studies major from Howell, Mich., is the costume designer; Ethan Santiago, a junior design and technology major from Belton, Texas, is the lighting designer; William Cooper Sanders, a junior theatre performance major from Jeffersonville, Ind., serves as the sound designer; Nick Geyvandova, a first-year theatre performance major from College Station, Texas, is the dramaturg; Jasmine Hardin, a first-year stage management major from Aurora, Colo., is the stage manager, and Quinn McGaugh, a junior performance major from McAlester, Okla., serves as the technical director.
The cast features Sophia McGuire, a junior theatre studies major from McKinney, Texas, as Jo March; Evelyn Hipp, a senior theatre studies major from Nolensville, Tenn., as Meg March; Kiara Cantu, a first-year performance major from Edinburg, Texas, as Beth March; Emily Proctor, a sophomore theatre studies major from Jeffersonville, Ind., as Amy March; Kennedy Olson, a junior performance major from Porter, Texas, as Marmee March/Aunt March; Alyssa Meadows, a junior performance major from Louisville, Ky., as Hannah/Mrs. Mingott/Messenger; Landry Barker, a junior performance major from Fort Worth, Texas, as Theodore “Laurie” Laurence; Arturo Quepons, a junior theatre performance major from San Antonio, Texas, as John Brooks/Parrot; and Gage Dragoo, a first-year performance major from Frisco, Texas, as Robert March/Mr. Laurence.
Seating is limited, and tickets are $20 for general admission and $18 for senior adults, UE employees, and non-UE students. Single tickets may be purchased online at theatre.evansville.edu or by calling the ticket office at 812.488.2031.
The City of Evansville today announced the launch of the new METS My Ride Bus Tracking website.
The City of Evansville today announced the launch of the new METS My Ride Bus Tracking website.
“Our team has been working since April 2024 to get the best system in place for Evansville. METS passengers can now visit https://metsmyride.evansville.in.gov or the QR below to see when their bus arrives and the seating capacity on the bus. ” Todd Robertson, Executive Director of Transportation and Services said, “This is a great resource for our passengers and offers much more. With the new devices on the buses, we can see which stops passengers are using the most. This will help us with planning future amenities such as shelters and benches. It also tracks ridership and other metrics we report to the Federal Government. ”
In the next few weeks the METS My Ride App will also launch in the Google Play and Apple App Stores. Until then, users can download the app at the QR code below.
Media with inquiries, please contact Joe Atkinson, Communications Director for Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry,
at 812-305-0543 or jatkinson@evansville.in.gov.
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