Milwaukee DA John Chisholm fires back at critics, talks next steps in his career

Milwaukee County's top prosecutor, John Chisholm, said the time to move on has come.

Chisholm, 60, surprised many in the political world by announcing Friday that he would not seek re-election after 17 years running the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

In a wide-ranging and candid interview with the Journal Sentinel this week, Chisholm discussed his future, took on his critics, touted his achievements, expressed some regrets while others weighed in on his legacy after 17 years as the county's top prosecutor.

Calling this moment a good opportunity for a "chapter to be turned and move on," Chisholm said he doesn't plan to leave the scene altogether

"I've still got a lot of a lot of energy, a lot of interest," said Chisholm, adding that he hopes to go into academia, the nonprofit world or government service.

He will serve out the remainder of his term and is hoping his top deputy, Kent Lovern, will succeed him in January 2025.

In the interview, Chisholm also spoke strongly in response to the charge by his conservative critics that he has been soft on crime: "It's bullshit, and they know it's bullshit."

Progressive reforms under Chisholm

Over nearly two decades, Chisholm navigated the law and politics in a troubled and turbulent era.

Still, many of his supporters spoke highly of Chisholm's impact on the District Attorney's Office.

Among other things, several lawyers and judges mentioned that Chisholm worked to overhaul what many felt had been an antiquated office in the decades under his predecessor, long-serving District Attorney E. Michael McCann, moving the office into the 21st Century.

For veteran defense attorney Craig Mastantuono, Chisholm was viewed as an early innovator at progressive prosecution.

"He was talking to people within the defense community and, of course, within the prosecution community about how to do a better job at public safety," Mastantuono said.

"That resulted in what we call early intervention options now, which are diversions, deferred prosecution agreements and treatment courts — none of which existed before John became (district attorney), and all of which were instituted as now what have become routine institutions in Milwaukee County."

"He's a policy-driven person as opposed to a politics-driven person," Mastantuono said

During his tenure, his office has been the launching pad for the careers of many prominent judges and justices in Wisconsin.

Among those who have worked for or with Chisholm are state Supreme Court Justices Rebecca Frank Dallet and Janet Protesiewicz, former Milwaukee County Circuit Judges Stephanie Rothstein and Audrey Skwierawski, now the state courts director under the Supreme Court.

"Milwaukee County has been lucky to have John's leadership in the DA's office for more than 20 years," said Dallet, who worked with Chisholm as an assistant district attorney. "He's a straight-shooter, he believes in humanity, and I know he always tried to do the right thing no matter who he might offend."

Since 2007, he has made numerous changes to the office, including the creation of specialized units targeting witness intimidation, child abuse and gun-and-drug-related crime. He also took steps to make sure that bond was set using more objective criteria than in the past.

Nearly all of those who have worked with Chisholm credited him for his community prosecution program, where those from his office work directly with police and residents, and his interest in restorative justice programs. He also helped create the Community Justice Council, Milwaukee County Drug Treatment and Veterans Treatment Courts.

His approaches have gained widespread attention, with in-depth analyses of his office and its practices featuring in studies carried out by the criminal justice nonprofit national research and policy organization, The Vera Institute of Justice, as well as national media like The New Yorker.

Rothstein, the former prosecutor and judge, said Chisholm's job was made much more complicated by shortages in funding throughout his tenure. Starting prosecutors are still making relatively low salaries compared with other attorneys, hampering recruitment and leading to heavy turnover, and the office is severely underfunded, Rothstein said.

Beyond that, the agency had to try to keep up with the advances in crime-fighting by local police agencies.

Despite all this, Rothstein said, Chisholm was a trail blazer.

"John has done an outstanding job," she said. "He's been true to his commitment to the people of the county. And he's administered justice in the office in a fair and sober and even-handed fashion."

Chisholm addresses explosion of crime in Milwaukee

Chisholm wasn't without his critics.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Borowski said he considered Chisholm a "good person" who was "well meaning," but Borowski said the county's top prosecutor failed at his most important duty: lowering crime.

"In the last three or four years, crime has exploded in Milwaukee County," Borowski said. "I don't think that either he or law enforcement or other elected officials have done enough to stem the problems related to reckless driving, shootings, weapons possession, homicide and other significant crimes."

Asked if he considered Chisholm soft on crime, Borowski said, "Let's put it this way. If I was district attorney, I would have handled many things differently than he did and his office has in the last couple of years."

Borowski added that he is considering running for district attorney while noting he could only do this if state lawmakers pass a bill permitting judges to run for nonjudicial posts during their terms. Borowski's judicial term ends in 2027.

Chisholm bristled at the criticism, noting he has created special units dedicated to particular crimes, such as nonfatal shootings. His agency's conviction rate on homicides is 95%, he said.

As for Borowski running for his job, Chisholm dismissed the idea.

"There's just no way in hell," he said. "There's no judge that's going to give up a seat where they're making $170,000 a year to become the Milwaukee County DA where you're going to make $145,000 a year, plus have to actually work for a living. That's not going to happen."

Blasted by critics and community alike

Chisholm also came under intense criticism for his handling of what became known as the John Doe I and John Doe II investigations into Walker, a Republican, and his associates. At the time they were conducted, Wisconsin’s John Doe law allowed prosecutors to operate in secret and compel people to turn over documents and give testimony.

John Doe I, which began in 2010, resulted in six convictions of Walker aides and associates for campaigning with public resources, exceeding political donation limits, stealing from a veterans fund and other crimes. Those crimes stemmed from a time when Walker was Milwaukee County executive.

John Doe II looked into whether Walker’s campaign for governor illegally worked with conservative political groups on recall elections. The state Supreme Court shut down the investigation in 2015, saying nothing illegal had occurred.

A number of Republicans accused Chisholm of leading a partisan probe of his political enemies. But GOP officials were never able to field a strong candidate against Chisholm in heavily Democratic Milwaukee County.

In the interview, Chisholm defended the actions of both efforts. He said he believes the first John Doe investigation were "very well-handled." A special prosecutor oversaw the second one before it was shut down by the courts, but Chisholm said he was 100% in favor of that investigation, too.

Even so, Chisholm said, it was a low point for him personally when he was hit with repeated criticism over the John Doe probes but was legally unable to respond to the claims.

"Those were not great times," he said. "That scrutiny has never really ended."

Chisholm's Public Integrity Unit won convictions against Democrats such as then-Milwaukee County Supervisor Toni Clark and Milwaukee Alds. Chantia Lewis and Michael McGee Jr. Chisholm's office lost at trial in a case against Democrat Johnny Thomas, then a county supervisor, for alleged bribery.

In 2021, Chisholm acknowledged his agency erred when Darrell Brooks was released on $1,000 bail in a domestic violence case, five days before Brooks went to mow his vehicle into the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade, killing six people and injuring 60 more.

Chisholm later said the decision to recommend low bail in the Milwaukee County case was a mistake and came as an early-career prosecutor in the middle of a jury trial reviewed the bail decision.

Brian Schimming, chairman of the state Republican Party, said he believes Chisholm had stayed in his office too long.

“Chisholm’s long overdue departure is a welcome change for Milwaukeeans who are sick and tired of woke politics being put before their personal safety," Schimming said. "His retirement is a first step in the right direction towards common sense policies and safer communities."

Finally, Chisholm has been criticized by some members of the Black community for not charging crimes in the death of young Black men at the hands of police. This includes the deaths of Derek Williams in 2011 and Dontre Hamilton in 2014. Many have also decried the lack of charges against three white customers at a West Allis convenience store in the death of Craig Stingley in 2012.

At the same time, his office also won convictions against former Milwaukee police officers for illegal strip search and body cavity search practices.

His office has also worked with The Vera Institute of Justice to audit his office for racial disparities in prosecutorial discretion. One conclusion from that audit, which was carried out over several years, reported that the District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute 27% of Black people compared to the 41% of white people arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, and that most of the defendants that were charged in cases involving resisting or obstructing an officer were Black men already in-custody.

Chisholm said he believes the charging decisions by his office have been "pretty even-handed."

Of the criticism Chisholm has faced over the years, attorney Michael Maistelman, Chisholm's longtime friend and occasional courtroom foe, said no one should be surprised at that given all of the changes that have occurred under his watch.

"That's part of the job," Maistelman said. "You're not going to win over everyone."

Chisholm's final regret

In his interview, Chisholm was asked if there was anything he wished had been done differently.

He noted that early in his tenure, homicide rates had dropped to their lowest levels since the 1980s, something he said was due to the cooperation of a number of people at the local, county, state and federal levels.

But Chisholm said gun laws were loosened early in the 2010s, and the number of police officers has been cut by more than 400 slots in Milwaukee. Then, he said, the pandemic hit, overwhelming local officials with a greater demand for services.

"So if there's anything that I wish could have been done differently," he said, "it is that is that adequate resources for the county in the city had been invested much earlier, which includes funding for for prosecutors and for county employees, so that you can actually provide effective services for the public."

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or at vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on X @Vanessa_Swales.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee DA John Chisholm blasts claims he’s soft on crime