Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson delivered his 2025 State of the City address at the Baird Center on Monday. He was introduced by his predecessor, former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
Johnson’s wide-ranging address touched on topics like crime and violence (“For three straight years, violent crime is down in Milwaukee,”) reckless driving (“Reckless driving must be brought under control, and we are making solid progress on our efforts to do so,”) whatever the f*ck is going on in Washington (“I am also seriously troubled by the threats and interruptions to our fiscal partnerships with Washington,”) whatever the f*ck is going on with MPS (“To be clear, Milwaukee needs to see substantial change, substantial improvements, at MPS,”) and more.
“Milwaukee’s people are strong, and so too is the state of our city,” Johnson said at the conclusion of his address. Here’s text of the whole thing:
Thank you, Ambassador Tom Barrett, and thank you President Marty Brooks and Alderwoman Milele Coggs. To the honored guests, elected officials, fellow residents and to all who join us this morning, welcome.
Our city is resting upon a solid foundation, supported by hardworking residents, and rising to new heights.
I am gratified by the work that has brought us to this point, and motivated to accomplish even more.
We have gathered in a remarkable new facility, a convention center built to welcome visitors and, more importantly, to spur economic growth.
As you can see, the Baird Center is a beautiful building, filled with contemporary technology and flexible spaces. When it opened less than a year ago, the Baird Center doubled our convention capacity, welcoming more and more meetings, trade shows, and expositions with expectations of attracting 100,000 additional visitors each year.
More visitors equal more spending which is good for the city and the entire state of Wisconsin.
As we grow our hospitality industry, we are creating jobs. We are sustaining Milwaukee families and benefiting our entire economy.
At the forefront of this effort was the Presidential nominating convention our city hosted last July. The Baird Center was a major part of that event. We showed the nation – in fact, we showed the world – that Milwaukee is an ideal location to stage a gathering on a huge scale.
As I said from the outset, hosting a major party convention was not, in any way, a political statement. No, our goals were purely economic. We had a successful week displaying our capabilities and our facilities in a way that will surely pay dividends for many years to come.
I am grateful to all those who contributed to last summer’s convention success. Planners, organizers, and participants all stepped up. The nonpartisan Host Committee and Visit Milwaukee were vital.
Local businesses participated, and downtown residents and companies demonstrated patience. And, I have special appreciation for all the public safety professionals who made sure the convention was safe for every visitor, every media representative and every delegate.
Public safety was important during the convention, and it is essential in our work to strengthen Milwaukee.
A leading branch of city government that directly advances the safety of our residents is the Milwaukee Fire Department. In the past few months, the department has grown, recommissioning Engine 31 and staffing a new paramedic unit, Med 8.
This year the department is celebrating one-hundred-and-fifty years of service to the city. I join in celebrating the anniversary with respect and appreciation for the remarkable work of our firefighters and paramedics.
In the 18-hundreds, firefighters relied on horse-pulled steam engines. The department has certainly evolved. Now it’s sophisticated firefighting, modern equipment, and highly trained firefighters and paramedics who are saving lives and protecting property. And the fire department continues to embrace its outreach efforts, working to prevent opioid overdoses and electrical fires.
The fire department’s history is filled with dramatic incidents and spectacular fires. Almost every day the department relates aspects of its history on its social media, and I encourage everyone to follow along.
It is not possible to reflect on the Milwaukee Fire Department’s history without noting the bravery and heroics its members demonstrate. That was most certainly the case last April 14th at a house fire on South 8th Street.
Learning of a person trapped on an upper floor, firefighters rushed in. The flames spread quickly, cutting off Firefighter Ryan McMenamin’s exit route.
Trapped, McMenamin fought for his life, crawling toward the front of the building amid excruciating heat.
Crews scrambled for frightening minutes to find and rescue McMenamin, and when they pulled him out he was severely burned.
Paramedics took him to Columbia – St. Mary’s burn unit where he began his recovery that included painful skin grafts and rehabilitation.
Amazingly, about eight months after his injuries, Ryan McMenamin returned to full duty. He’s back on the south side aboard Engine 23. Ryan, thank you for your heroics, your dedication, and your service. Ryan, please stand.
There are quite a number of city workers who share McMenamin’s ethic. One person is Police Officer Daniel Morrell. Early last year, Morrell responded with his tactical enforcement team to an armed standoff in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. A suspect was holding several people – including children – in a home.
Police attempted to talk the suspect into surrendering, and when that was not successful, the suspect began firing his military-style rifle. One round hit officer Morrell in the thigh, seriously wounding him.
Daniel Morrell underwent extensive medical treatment, including a lengthy recovery. And, yes, he is now back on duty. Daniel, you have earned respect and appreciation from every law-abiding resident of Milwaukee. And, Daniel, please accept our gratitude.
I am so pleased Police Officer Daniel Gonzales is here. Just two-and-a-half weeks ago, an assailant shot and badly wounded Officer Gonzales.
Knowing just how seriously hurt he was, it was a very positive sign to see him leaving Froedtert Hospital a week after the shooting. And, it is remarkable to see you here today.
We express our appreciation, Officer Gonzales. I wish you a prompt and full recovery. And, Officer Gonzalez, like me, is a Bay View Redcat.
When it comes to reducing crime and violence, I insist on a two-pronged approach. I want accountability for those who break the law and I want robust prevention to keep Milwaukee young people on a positive path. Accountability and Prevention. That is the strategy that is producing results.
For three straight years, violent crime is down in Milwaukee. In each of the last three years, property crime is down, too. The biggest year-over-year changes in 2024 came in homicides and non-fatal shootings; both categories were more than 20% down from the previous year.
Milwaukee is demonstrably safer with fewer crimes and fewer victims of crime. That success is no reason to let up. When it comes to accountability, the city’s efforts are led by the men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department.
My budgets are investing more in police personnel, aiming to add to the number of officers. Like cities across the country, Milwaukee is facing some recruiting challenges, and we are working hard to meet the staffing benchmarks laid out in state law.
Prevention is most certainly part of our crime reduction success. Our Office of Community Wellness and Safety is a key part of that.
This group includes our Critical Response Team, violence Interrupters who, through their lived experience and knowledge of gang dynamics can defuse volatile situations. They intervene in high-risk situations before they escalate and mediate conflicts. Last year that was done in, literally, hundreds of situations.
The same office leads the Promise Keepers Initiative which includes four Promise Zones – Old North Milwaukee, North Division/Harambee, Washington Park, and the Near South Side. Teams conduct community assessments, identifying emerging safety issues while building trust.
The Office of Community Wellness and Safety extends its prevention activities with Credible Clinicians and Healers. They are providing trauma-informed care and mental health care to people impacted by violence. The goal is to reduce retaliation and promote healing through talk therapy, yoga, restorative justice circles, and more. Just like the Critical Response team, this work served hundreds of people last year.
Milwaukee County has a program that impresses me. Under the direction of County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee County has a “No Wrong Door” policy. And for city residents facing challenges or crises, the county is overcoming bureaucratic complexity. That’s prevention in a very positive form.
Prevention does not take place only on the front lines. Our prevention strategy takes the long view, too. I want young people to see positive opportunities in their future.
Both Earn and Learn and Camp Rise offer young people information, guidance, and exposure to productive work – with real paychecks. Earn and Learn is work experience for teens and people in their early twenties. Over the years, tens-of-thousands of work opportunities have been offered.
Camp Rise is a unique program where we engage an even younger cohort of children with programing and service opportunities. And participants receive a stipend. I am not aware of any similar program – introducing kids to work – at such a young age anywhere else in the country.
When it comes to prevention, everyone needs to be part of the solution. Everyone needs to take part in making Milwaukee safer. I’ve asked teachers, preachers, business people, neighbors, relatives, and, especially, parents to step up.
On our streets, Milwaukee is safer, too. Fatalities on our roadways are down. We are making that a priority through our multifaceted Vision Zero effort. Education, yes. Legislative changes, yes. Enforcement, yes. And, physical changes to our streets, yes.
We have been measuring the effectiveness of traffic calming projects. It’s clear; traffic calming is reducing the number of drivers who speed – and dramatically reducing the excessive speeding on the improved roadways.
Reckless driving undermines our safety. It is a direct affront to our sense of civility. Reckless driving must be brought under control, and we are making solid progress on our efforts to do so.
When Milwaukee is safer, we are stronger. Milwaukee is better positioned to grow and thrive.
I want strength in our housing options, too. That’s why I support comprehensive updates to our residential zoning rules. Growing MKE is the product of listening and understanding the challenges. Renters, homeowners, and those left out of realistic housing options all have issues with the status quo.
The Growing MKE Plan aims to increase housing options across the city, support walkable urban neighborhoods, and complement City plans for housing affordability and environmental sustainability.
Can we increase homeownership? Can we affect the forces that drive rents higher and higher? Can we allow families to add a new residence to their property to accommodate an aging parent or a child moving back home? I believe the answers are yes.
With Growing MKE, we could see increased residential options along the city’s commercial corridors adding new vitality and strength there.
We are working with Common Council members, including Alderman Mark Chambers and Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, to advance Growing MKE. And, I’m hopeful we can make progress.
It’s a fact, Milwaukee is in a battle to retain the talent we have and attract new talent. I’m here to tell you we will lose out to other cities that are advancing innovative change if we allow the status quo to persist.
The price of rent and homeownership have climbed in recent years, so the cost of housing is an increasing expense in family budgets. For example, a recent study of fifty cities ranked Milwaukee 30th in the country – tied with New York City – on rental affordability for a minimum wage worker. We shouldn’t be that expensive.
My administration is thoughtfully exploring ways the city can address the high cost of housing.
City government has long supported the development of housing for our lowest-income residents. What’s changing is our willingness to support middle-market housing. We are finalizing a framework under which city support, including tax incremental financing, might be deployed to spur more workforce housing developments.
I recently convened a meeting of business leaders, and one executive told me their workers love Milwaukee. They want to be in the city and live in the city, but cannot afford to do so. I want to capture every business, every job, and every employee as a city resident because Milwaukee is a great place to call home. It’s where you belong. That’s why, as was recently reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 30,000 people moved to our city in the last couple of years – adding to my goal of growing our population.
As more housing choices are available, the pressure on housing costs in our city can be lessened.
Our Department of Neighborhood Services saw more residential and commercial permits close in 2024 when compared to the previous year. And, when developers and builders interact with city government, they have seen speedier plan approvals. I want all city departments to be accurate, responsive, and effective.
The past year tested the Milwaukee Election Commission, and it passed with flying colors. Between primaries, local elections, special elections and a presidential election, the staff had no time to relax. The scrutiny was intense. Every action and every decision was examined and questioned. The Election Commission staff was under constant pressure.
Six elections, four recall efforts, restarting dropbox ballot collection, record-breaking early voting which included a statewide computer slowdown, 108-thousand absentee ballots processed in a single day, and through all of it, they did their jobs.
Milwaukee voters turned out at a rate higher than any of the other fifty largest cities in the United States last November. Votes were counted accurately and the process conducted with transparency.
I have nothing but praise for our team at the Election Commission.
And those elections brought changes. Locally we elected a new City Attorney, Evan Goyke, a new Comptroller, Bill Christenson, and new Common Council members Peter Burgelis, DiAndre Jackson, and Sharlen Moore. In November, Milwaukee was key in the reelection of United States Senator Tammy Baldwin.
We also elected a new President, and the implications of the change in our nation’s chief executive office are not fully clear. I am deeply concerned about the shift in immigration enforcement. While I want people to follow the law, I also want every person, irrespective of documentation, to be treated with appropriate dignity and respect. There is simply no justification for demonizing hardworking immigrants.
I am also seriously troubled by the threats and interruptions to our fiscal partnerships with Washington. Hundreds of city staff, and numerous non-profit agencies are funded, at least in part, by federal grants. Rescinding those grants can have devastating effects that we are working to avoid.
Our relationship with Madison is far more stable. The Governor’s budget proposal includes some provisions that, if approved by the legislature, would benefit Milwaukee. There’s a long process ahead for Wisconsin’s biennial fiscal plan, and I will engage with lawmakers defending the interests of Milwaukee in the months ahead.
I have even more concern about what’s happening in all Milwaukee schools. The classroom achievements of this city’s children must improve. Milwaukee’s future – our economic future, our social future, and our safety future, all rely on the knowledge and abilities of students currently in school.
No matter if it’s public, private, or charter schools, we must produce graduates who can read proficiently, who can solve problems, and who can lead in organizations, businesses, community, and government.
Improvements in education are good for Milwaukee and good for the state of Wisconsin.
Our youngest residents have the potential. Like so many here, I started, stayed, and succeeded at MPS before it was a cool slogan. I see the same potential every day as an MPS parent. So many of our partners see the potential in our kids, too.
To be clear, Milwaukee needs to see substantial change, substantial improvements, at MPS. For decades, it has been a school district in despair, and our students, particularly our Black students, are suffering the consequences. We have great teachers; we have great students; I want great outcomes. That’s what our kids need and that’s what our kids deserve.
I want to thank Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan for stepping up at MPS. He has managed a number of complex situations.
I am pleased the MPS School Board has selected a new superintendent, Dr. Brenda Cassellius. We have already had some positive discussions, and I feel she is ready to move MPS forward. The new superintendent has a track record of building community engagement and success. I share her view that we have both an opportunity and an obligation to address what is not working at MPS.
Education is so important to our city that I am inviting Superintendent Cassellius to work more closely with the members of my cabinet. She knows I will be a partner, an advocate, and a participant in the work to improve our schools. I want to pursue that work with every interested party who shares the goal of improving MPS and education, overall, in Milwaukee.
Let’s face the facts, our schools have been in jeopardy. Funding issues, fairness issues, and the complexities of urban education have all complicated the necessary work. These are not excuses; these are real issues that, collectively, we can address and overcome. So, it is not up to the superintendent alone and it’s not up to the mayor alone. It is up to all of us including businesses, governments, philanthropists, and community.
I’m a fan of the work City Year is doing in Milwaukee. The young adults of City Year are supporting student learning. They are in classrooms, and assisting with the teaching that takes place there. They are making a difference, and I am glad some of the City Year participants are with us this morning.
We could use a lot more people, volunteering, mentoring, and giving back like these young leaders are doing in schools.
In recent weeks, the Milwaukee Health Department has identified some MPS schools with lead hazards.
The department has issued orders and raised broader concerns. Look, learning environments must be safe. Cleanup, remediation, and ongoing maintenance have to be conducted with lead-safe procedures. There are no acceptable excuses. The legacy of lead paint has harmed too many children in Milwaukee, and under no circumstances can lead harm students in school.
We are working to eliminate even the smallest potential lead exposure by accelerating the replacement of lead service lines delivering water to homes in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Water Works replaced 2,700 such lines in 2024, the most we have ever replaced in a year. We prioritize neighborhoods with a combination of factors including a higher incidence of childhood lead exposure. The work continues this year with a target of 35-hundred lead service lines replaced, and we are aiming to meet the ten-year goal we have set for fully replacing all lead laterals.
We are making important investments in infrastructure – investments that are making Milwaukee stronger and increasing sustainability.
I am enthusiastic about the progress Milwaukee has made as we increase bikeways. Nearly fifty miles of bicycle-friendly improvements are either complete or in progress. You can see the work along streets like Van Buren where bikeways offer a protected path integrated into roadway improvements. The same is true on East North Avenue where bicycles can now, more easily, connect with existing county bike paths.
In 2025 you will see bicycle infrastructure added along Lisbon Avenue from Burleigh Street west all the way to the city limits in Alderman Lamont Westmoreland’s district. And, on the south side there will be a new on-street protected bikeway to connect the Kinnickinnic River Trail in Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic’s district. We are opening more bicycle options for travelers to reach their destinations whether that’s to their homes, or schools, or local businesses.
Five years ago, our Green Infrastructure Plan set a goal of adding 36 million gallons of stormwater storage in Milwaukee by 2030. We want to keep rainwater surges from overwhelming our stormwater and sewer systems. The good news is we have already surpassed that goal – five years ahead of schedule.
This year, we’re incorporating green infrastructure in many projects throughout the City including the reconstruction of West Lisbon Avenue, a road diet project on South 1st Street, and a project on North Jefferson Street that will install the City’s first bioswale-protected bike lane. Additionally, the creation of green medians is part of the plan for Sherman Boulevard, which will start construction in the coming years.
Sustainability and long-term cost savings are a big part of our Bright Line street lighting improvements. In projects all across the city, we invested millions of dollars to upgrade illumination with LED lights and to improve antiquated circuitry to accommodate more enhancements. Six-thousand lights were changed out last year, and this year we have more ambitious goals – doubling that number with the investment of $14-million in street lights and circuits. On tap in the coming weeks are lighting projects in both Andrea Pratt’s First Aldermanic District and Milele Coggs’ Sixth Aldermanic District.
Brighter streets are safer streets. And, over the long run, these improvements save on electric costs for the city.
My administration’s Environmental Collaboration Office continues its work to advance the city’s climate and equity plan. We are making progress on what the plan calls its Ten Big Ideas. We are committed to moving Milwaukee forward with sustainability as a guiding principle.
Milwaukee is investing in public spaces, an approach that adds to sustainability and to the quality of life in neighborhoods across the city. Just last year, we christened Vel Phillips Plaza just south of this location. Looking forward, we will see improvements at Erie Street Plaza and Catalano Square. At Highland Street, just west of the Milwaukee River, we will honor the late Gary Grunau with a new plaza. And we are examining possibilities for the land between the Couture and Discovery World for a renewed and connected public space.
City government’s finances are far stronger than they have been in past years. That’s not to say we are well-off; our budgets will be particularly tight headed into the next years. However, we are not facing imminent fiscal disaster that was looming over City Hall just two years ago. The sales tax collections have exceeded the initial Comptroller prediction by more than $10-million. That adds to the stability of our pension obligations.
Let me close with this:
We are a stronger city with an economy that is keeping our residents employed. Businesses in Milwaukee continue to hire and our unemployment rate remains relatively low. We are investing in Milwaukee so that we are well situated for the challenges ahead.
We are a strong city, rich with cultural and entertainment advantages. The performing arts we host in Milwaukee are the finest in the region. Our museums are amazing. And, our sports teams compete right along with the best.
Our natural advantages make Milwaukee strong, as well. We are blessed with a Great Lake and three rivers, waterways that offer both recreation and a particularly valuable resource, water.
What truly makes Milwaukee strong is our people. Our residents work hard; they’re making our city stronger. They are invested here, improving neighborhoods, raising families, participating in church activities and in community organizations. Our residents will sustain Milwaukee’s strength. That has been the case for nearly 180-years, since our incorporation as a municipality. And, it will certainly be the case for the 180 years ahead.
Milwaukee’s people are strong, and so too is the state of our city.
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