Milwaukee County May Draw Up Own 'Safer At Home' Order

MILWAUKEE, WI — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers' Safer At Home order runs through May 26, but is facing a Republican-backed legal challenge before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Leaders in Milwaukee County say they want to be prepared if the statewide order gets overturned. The state's highest court heard arguments in the legal challenge on Tuesday.

According to a WISN-12 report Wednesday afternoon, Milwaukee County officials are making plans to draw up their own "Safer At Home" order in the event the governor's statewide order gets overturned by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

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"If we retain that authority, it would be our intention to issue an order that would be a local order," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Tuesday in the report. "There have been extensive conversations that have already occurred among the 11 public health officers in Milwaukee County."

County officials said they want to have all of Milwaukee County's 19 municipalities on board with the order in the event they feel it's necessary.

Lawsuit Filed

Republican lawmakers in the Wisconsin State Legislature filed a lawsuit with the State Supreme Court on April 21, seeking to block Democratic Gov. Tony Evers stay-at-home order extension, citing a legal overreach by the state's Department of Health Services.

Evers directed State Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm to extend the state's stay-at-home order from April 24 to May 26.

News of the extension roiled lawmakers and resulted in several sizable protests across the state in subsequent days.

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