A Wisconsin judge prompted outrage among Republican lawmakers and conservative activists after issuing a temporary restraining order on March 18 against a recently passed law limiting the collective bargaining privileges of government-employee unions.

Wisconsin’s elected government is under fire again from Democrats, socialists, and government-teachers’ unions over a proposal to cut some state funding for most public-sector schools while limiting their ability to make up the lost revenue through property-tax increases. Critics decried the measure partly because they believe it will increase the number of private educational options available to Wisconsin families.

Legislators in Arizona are reaching out to other state governments in the region to form partnerships against the federal government and its ever-expanding array of unconstitutional dictates on everything from ObamaCare to environmental matters, media reports explained. The problem with the idea, according to analysts, is that the federal government itself will need to sign off on the deals before they can take effect.

Though Wisconsin’s efforts to rein in spending and the power of government-employee unions have dominated media coverage of state politics in recent weeks, Ohio is considering similar measures to close an estimated $8 billion budget deficit that could have an even broader impact on collective bargaining and public-sector workers.

After almost a month of intense protests failed to intimidate elected Republican officials into backing down, some union bosses and socialist agitators are ramping up calls for an illegal general strike in Wisconsin to battle a bill limiting the collective bargaining privileges of government employees.

After both houses of the Wisconsin legislature voted to approve a reform bill limiting some bargaining privileges of powerful government-sector unions, protesters exploded in a furious rage that included numerous reports of death threats to Republican lawmakers, breaking of windows at the Capitol building, mass chaos, and more.

The Wisconsin Senate caused an uproar after splitting its budget-repair legislation into two parts to be able to pass government-union reform provisions even without the Democratic state senators, all of whom fled to Illinois weeks ago in an effort block the proposal by preventing the super-majority quorum required for fiscal votes.

Anti-reform protestors in Wisconsin shouting angry slogans forced two Republican lawmakers to close down a town hall meeting on March 7 aimed at hearing the concerns of constituents. Fears over security and noise levels prompted the early shutdown, according to one of the legislators.  

After spending more than three weeks in Illinois seeking to block a Republican reform bill aimed at reining in a multi-billion dollar deficit and the powerful government-sector unions, at least some of Wisconsin’s 14 missing Democratic state Senators could be preparing to return to Madison, according to news reports.

Pro- and anti-reform activists in Wisconsin are seeking to recall state Senators over Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to rein in spending and the powerful government-employee unions that have been protesting the measure for more than three weeks. The efforts are drawing support and money from across the nation as conservative and liberal groups, along with a battery of unions, urge their members and supporters to get involved.