In other news ...

Aside from the small matter of the mayor getting arrested, a lot of news broke in Racine in the past week. I feel many of those stories got buried in the avalanche of Becker's Hard Drive, so let's review all things non-child enticement in the last seven days:

• SC Johnson bought a historic fire station and will preserve it
• Ice carving in Downtown Racine
• WHEDA may not like Racine
• Unified facing $3.5 million budget deficit
• All Saints laid off 43 employees and cut others' hours
• The Racine Zoo eliminated 'Free Mondays'
• Circuit City is closing
• Downtown Racine announced their new public art project
• Thrift shops were spared from having to test clothing for lead
• WaldenBooks is closing at Regency Mall
• Max needs a home

Waldenbooks at Regency Mall closing

Another long-time retail stalwart at Regency Mall is closing.

Waldenbooks sent an email notice to customers Saturday night saying the store will close on Jan. 24. The store is offering 40% off the list price of everything in the store (except magazines and electronics).

Waldenbooks, which is owned by Borders Group Inc., closed about half its stores in 2007. There are approximately 420 Waldenbooks stores in the U.S.; reports say all the "under-performing" ones will close this month.

The most recent closure at Regency was Steve and Barry's, which ended its final clearance sale a week ago. Prior to that, Regency lost Linens and Things to a corporate bankruptcy this summer. Business analysts have been predicting a wave of retail store closures in 2009 -- thousands of stores are believed in jeopardy of closing, perhaps as many as 40,000 across the U.S.

Becker's defense

Can Gary Becker get out of the charges filed against him?

Maybe.

Similar cases in Wisconsin and around the country have resulted in different outcomes. Some charged have ended up with lengthy prison sentences, others with lengthy court cases ending with relatively short sentences. Here's a review of cases I found online:

A Wisconsin Rapids man got a conviction overturned by an appeals court after he engaged in a sexually explicit chat, including video, with a state agent posing as a 13-year-old girl

Two appeals court rulings in Indiana suggest police need a "real victim" to convict suspects of serious crimes.

The use of undercover investigators as bait in Internet chats has become routine in Central Indiana. But the attraction for law enforcement -- the lack of an actual victim -- also became the basis for the reversal of two convictions against a Shelbyville man Wednesday by the Indiana Court of Appeals. That leaves in place a third related conviction.

That doesn't jibe with a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in 2002 (see Robbins vs State) that found the suspect's intent was all that was needed for a conviction in an Internet sex sting case. (And here's a story I wrote for the JT in 2002 on the issue.)

* Criminal defense attorneys seem to think they have a case in Internet sex stings.

Here's a lawyer in Madison who thinks police overstep their bounds in Internet sex sting cases:

According to media reports, the undercover agent is a seasoned male police officer. The tone of the conversation is nothing short of "enticing erotica."

Here's a Milwaukee attorney making a similar argument:

Police increasingly use Internet chat room sting operations to ensnare unsuspecting individuals. Some are unfairly targeted persons who would not otherwise have become involved in child pornography or attempted child sexual contact. Such persons may have a defense if they satisfy the legal requirements of “entrapment”. Others may be guilty of some wrongdoing, but perhaps not the specific and more serious charge they face.

* But others caught in Internet sex stings have been convicted and sentenced to prison. This is worth more research, but the sentences seem to vary. Here's a case involving a Chicago priest from 2000 that resulted in a Racine County judge sentencing him to one year in prison for second degree sexual assault of a child.

It's safe to say odds are against Becker. But a Racine County court observer noted Becker's lawyer, Patrick Cafferty is very good. "If I was in trouble, he'd be the person I call," they said.

The making of an unperson quickly begins

The rewriting of city history has already begun -- but not quite as effectively as Russian leaders made unpersons of their vanquished rivals in the Stalinist era.

City Council President David Maack took action Thursday to remove Gary Becker's presence from the city's website. That's just one day after Becker was arrested at Brookfield Square Mall on child sex solicitation charges -- much faster than the city government usually moves on anything.

The Journal Times reported tonight that Maack, who as Council President has taken over as acting mayor, "asked city staff on Thursday to remove Becker's picture and welcome message from the city's website. “With everything going on I felt it was not appropriate for his picture and his welcome to remain on the Web site,” Maack told the JT.

Wrote the Journal Times: "He might still be the mayor of Racine, but Gary Becker’s face is no longer a part of the main page of the city’s Web site."

Yeah? Well, maybe not the "main" page, but he's still there on the website. We just grabbed this screenshot from the city's web page. And the mayor's budget address and state of the city address are also still there too -- as they should be. Becker is, after all, still mayor. (HA! Joke's on me: Sometime between 8 p.m. Friday, when I first posted this, and 11:30 p.m. when I just checked the link, all mayoral pages have disappeared. Somewhere, Stalin is smiling.)

Two aldermen want to limit interim mayor candidatesonly to aldermen who agree not to run for the office

Two aldermen are confronting the issue of a mayoral vacancy with an eye toward making sure that no interim mayor get a leg up on potential election opponents.

Robert Mozol, 15th District, and Aron Wisneski, 12th District, are circulating an email that suggests that any candidates for interim mayor must first agree not to run in the expected election, whether that election comes in April 2010 at the end of Mayor Gary Becker's term, or sometime in 2009 when set by the City Council. The timing, of course, is related to Becker's arrest this week on child sexual solicitation charges, and will depend, in part, on whether Becker resigns quickly, or is removed by the council. The five council members on the Executive Council will meet Tuesday to discuss Becker's removal.

The two aldermen note that some council members have already expressed interest in becoming mayor -- QA Shakoor II, Greg Helding and David Maack -- and they write, "If we decide, either by action or inaction, to allow one of these members to serve as acting Mayor for a great length of time, we essentially give that person incumbency, and the moniker of 'most experienced' going into an election. Offering this kind of leg-up on the competition would put us in the position of being King Makers, imposing our own judgment of fitness to serve over that of the electorate."

Therefore, they say, "the best option... is that the Council should consider a list of appointees who have no interest in running for Mayor (now or in the future) to serve until an election."

Here's the complete memo they sent Friday night to all council members:

We believe that it is incumbent upon us to confront the reality that a vacancy of the Mayor's office is likely in the near future. Our reading of applicable statutes and consultation with the City Attorney leads us to believe that one of two scenarios must play out:

1. Mayor's office is vacated. A new election for remainder of the term occurs in April 2010. City Council may appoint an interim mayor until that election.

2. Mayor's office is vacated. City Council sets a date in 2009 for a special election for the remainder of the term. City Council may appoint an interim mayor until that election.

Although the current Council President is statutorily mandated to serve as acting Mayor, the ability of the City Council to appoint a replacement suggests that the President need not hold that seat for the entirety of the time before the next election.

Given the nature of the current Mayor's exit from office, we believe that integrity and transparency are paramount considerations during this process. It is common knowledge that some members of the current City Council would be interested in running for the open office. If we decide, either by action or inaction, to allow one of these members to serve as acting Mayor for a great length of time, we essentially give that person incumbency, and the moniker of 'most experienced' going into an election. Offering this kind of leg-up on the competition would put us in the position of being King Makers, imposing our own judgment of fitness to serve over that of the electorate.

We believe that the best option, assuming the above two scenarios, is that the Council should consider a list of appointees who have no interest in running for Mayor (now or in the future) to serve until an election. Such a person should want to serve in this capacity, have some amount of executive or leadership background, and possibly some history of government service. The reasons for these qualifications are continuity, quality, and stability. Although we could not put an appointee under contractual obligation to not run in the future, their public promise to step aside after the election would serve to ensure fidelity to that vow.

We all know that any action the Council takes will be justifiably scrutinized and held to the highest ethical standards of democratic process. Our concern for the stability of City government should take into account our potential to influence the election process. Elimination of interested office seekers from consideration for interim Mayor keeps their credentials from unintended taint and helps to maintain competency in the City's executive office. In the end, only election by popular vote offers a Mayor the stamp of democratic legitimacy.

Robert Mozol
15th District Alderman
City of Racine, Wisconsin

Aron Wisneski
12th District Alderman
City of Racine, Wisconsin

Circuit City closing hits 40 employees

Circuit City store manager Joe Johnson

Inside Circuit City late this morning, two walls of big flat-screen TVs were switching among channels in unison. Customers -- not very many on this bitterly cold day, it must be admitted -- were wandering the aisles picking at this and that: TVs, computers, cameras, CDs.

But the sales reps were mostly huddled together, talking quietly about the news they'd just been given by Store Manager Joe Johnson: Circuit City is about to close forever.

The bad news had just arrived: the chain with almost 600 electronics stores in the U.S., and close to 800 in Canada -- with a total of 30,000 employees -- is going to liquidate and shut down. It's stock, worth $41 a share eight years ago dropped to 4 cents this morning.

The Green Bay Road store -- located about 40 feet south of arch-rival Best Buy -- opened in 2002 and has 40 employees. Johnson, who has run it for three years and been with the company for nine, said he's been told an outside liquidation company would come here in a day or so, and prepare merchandise for sale. He expects it to be a "reverse auction," where merchandise is priced at its regular price, and then the price is reduced perhaps 10% each week, until everything is sold.

Customers who have purchased extended warranties for electronic goods will not be affected, he said. Those warranties are handled through a third-party company, GE Assurion, and will remain valid and are fully funded. Normal warranties are provided by the manufacturers. Circuit City will no longer be offering extended warranties.

Johnson was clearly disappointed this morning. "I've got good, good people here," he said. "This store has been one of the top 20 performers in the company, and the Wisconsin District has been the leading district in the U.S.

"We're like a family. If anyone is looking for good employees, they should contact me." Under state law, Circuit City employees will receive 60 days' notice before pay and benefits halt.

'He is the mayor'

Here's a sticky question: What's to stop Gary Becker from being mayor of Racine?

Answer: Nothing.

That's according to Deputy City Attorney Scott Letteney, who sent this response when asked if Becker could start acting as mayor again:

He is the Mayor. He has not resigned or been removed.

In other words, city government is a mess right now. Alderman David Maack is acting like the interim mayor, but there's really no basis for him to hold the position. Becker can walk into City Hall at any time and resume his duties as the city's chief executive.

The City Council's Executive Committee is meeting Tuesday to discuss the process for removing Becker from office, but they're a ways out from the formal vote to toss the mayor out (anyone know if a Racine mayor has ever been removed from office?).

We could be looking at a few weeks of a confusing mess at 730 Washington Ave.

One side note: If Becker did return to City Hall, he's not allowed to use a computer in any form. No email, no calendars, nothing. It's a condition of his bond.

Becker's Hard Drive

Alright, it's Friday afternoon and I'm fried after a tough week for us all.

Amidst all this gloom and doom, how about a moment of fun? I've started calling the stories involving the mayor's fall, "Becker's Hard Drive." It evokes computers, late-night instant messaging and the mayor's fateful trip to Brookfield Square Mall.

But maybe it's a little lurid, and there must be a dozen ways we could go to tie a name on this scandal. So let's here your suggestions. We're looking for catchy titles that really wrap this whole sad saga together. The winner (or winners) get a free coffee on me.

City committee meeting Tuesday to begin removing Becker from office

The City Council's executive committee will meet Tuesday to review procedures for possibly removing Mayor Gary Becker from office.

Executive Committee members include: Sandy Weidner, QA Shakoor II, Tom Friedel, Greg Helding and David Maack. Becker is also a member.

Three of the five members of the Executive Committee are interested in replacing Becker as mayor. Maack is acting mayor, and Helding and Shakoor are interested in running in an election to replace Becker.

Here's the J-S story on the upcoming hearing.

Bargaining chip?

Becker doesn't have many cards to play, but one he does have is resignation.

Despite the charges, he's still the mayor and there's really nothing compelling him to leave office - it certainly can't get any worse. Resigning would be what's best for the city, but when you're looking at a lengthy prison sentence on child sex charges it's safe to say personal interest comes first.

It's unlikely Becker wants to drag this out. He's not going to win at trial, and it's almost certain he's going to prison. Now, it's about negotiating how long that prison sentence will be. His best bet may be to trade a resignation for pleading guilty to reduced charges. That would allow the city to move forward and probably lessen his prison time.

That said, the City Council could just wait him out, remove him from office and move one without a resignation. But that could get messy, and embarrassing, for Racine.

In talking about this case, a number of people had said something along the lines of: "Racine doesn't need this." They're right. Swinging one last deal with Becker before he heads off to prison may be the best way to make this disappear sooner, rather than later.

Police explanation of 2007 hard drive

Lt James Dobbs of the Racine Police Department, a real straight-shooter on police issues, sent over an explanation of how Mayor Becker's 2007 hard drive came to light.

Here's the explanation from Dobbs:

The first allegations of inappropriate activity involving computers owned by Mayor Becker were presented to D.C. Tom Christensen and Chief Wahlen on or about December 23, 2008. During these initial meetings between the Chief and Mike Ferderer, Ferderer had mentioned that Paul Burdick may have also seen some inappropriate materials in one Mayor Becker's computers some time ago when Burdick worked on Becker's computer.

Chief Wahlen saw Burdick off duty on Sunday, 1-11-09. Chief Wahlen started a conversation asking about computer repairs performed in the past. Burdick eventually offered up that he had performed work on Mayor Becker's personal computer in 2007. Burdick went on to say that he observed some inappropriate sexual material at that time. Burdick stated that when he gave the repaired computer back to Becker, he advised Becker that he should remove that type of material from his computer. Burdick also stated that he gave Becker a bill for services rendered. Burdick then advised Chief Wahlen that he had made a copy of the material on Becker's hard drive. Chief Wahlen then obtained that copy and forwarded it to DCI.

So that clears up any question of when police found out about the 2007 hard drive, which contained the picture of the naked 10-year-old. It doesn't explain why Burdick had a copy of the contents of Becker's personal computer (is there a way to prove the contents on the CD came from Becker's computer?), and why he didn't turn it over to police sooner. Then again, if you're a city employee and you come across potentially damaging information on the mayor, maybe the best thing to do is cover your tracks and keep your mouth shut.

One last note: This seems to clear Wahlen of any sort of cover up. Becker may have appointed him police chief, but it looks like Wahlen personally took the lead on investigating the allegations and found strong evidence that, eventually, led to the mayor's arrest.

One last, last note: It's interesting that Burdick told Becker to remove the pornography from his computer. That's a slick way of letting the mayor know that he knows about the kiddie porn. It also means that Becker has known since 2007 that a city employee had the whamee on him - and could play it at any time.

Questions

If you look closely at this case, its origins are pretty weak.

A city computer tech finds a handful of pictures of naked women on the mayor's computer, decides the women look young and turns it over to police. The department (which Becker outsourced) also happens to know that Paul Burdick - a former employee - has a CD with the personal contents of Becker's computer saved on it from 2007. It's this CD that has one picture of a naked 10-year-old girl that resulted in the child pornography charge. It also led state officials to lure Becker into the meeting at Brookfield Square Mall.

Before I continue, let's be clear: Becker got caught red-handed. According to the complaint, he planned to a meet a 14-year-old girl at a mall, take her to a hotel room and have sex. If proven true, this is a disgusting act and the behavior of a dangerous man.

But that still leaves questions: Why did Burdick have the disk? Why did he, or others with MIS, wait to turn it over to police? Was the MIS department holding the disk over Becker's head?

And one more thing: Even without the sex stuff, city officials shouldn't be asking city employees to fix their computers (or do any personal work for them). That alone would be worth a sanction, if not resignation, for abuse of power.

With vacancy looming, Maack makes bid for interim mayor appointment

The posturing has begun.

City Council President David Maack sent out an email to the City Council Thursday asking for their support if they have to appoint an interim mayor for the city.

It's a significant move because the city has three options to replace Mayor Gary Becker if (when) he resigns or is removed from office. The options are:

1. Hold a special election. This could be any day, but would requires a certain amount of time for candidates to file and campaign.

2. The City Council could appoint an interim mayor to fill out the rest of Becker's term, which runs through 2011.

3. An election could be held next April.

In Maack's letter, he says he will not run for election as mayor, but asks for their support to be interim mayor. What's interesting about that move is Maack fell into this position. The City Council president is elected every year and typically rotated among council members. Maack really has no more claim to the interim mayor position than anyone else on council, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

That said, Maack would make a fine interim mayor. He's a good man, solid on city business and certainly wired into the community (his day job is emergency management coordinator for Racine County). But it will be interesting to see if there is more posturing on the council for the position. For example, someone like Tom Friedl may be a good fit because he knows city government inside and out.

Here's Maack's email to the council, sent Jan. 15:

Colleagues-

Over the past 24 hours, I have had many people ask me to run for mayor.

Like all of you, I was shocked and stunned by the news that we received. Although there has not been an official vacancy, there has been much speculation over who will be running for that position.

While I am humbled by the calls of support that I have received, I will not be running for mayor at this time, but instead, I will be focusing my attention towards working with both the City Council and City Hall staff
to lead the City of Racine through this difficult time. Our city needs
strong, stable leadership and that is more important to me at this point than running for mayor.

If it becomes necessary to appoint an interim mayor, I would request your support for my appointment to that position. You have my assurance that I will not run for election to complete the current mayoral term.

If you have any questions, you may contact me at any time.

David L. Maack, CEM, CPM
City Council President
5th District Alderman, City of Racine, WI

Racine Republicans call on Becker to resign

The Racine County Republican Party called on Mayor Gary Becker to resign today. Here's the statement from party chairman Bill Folk:

Racine mayor should resign.

We awoke Wednesday to find that our community has been changed by the actions of the mayor of the city of Racine.

On that morning we were informed that Mayor Gary Becker was arrested on multiple felony counts associated with solicitation of a minor. The other charges are just as heinous and do not cast Mayor Becker in a good light. We need to remember, though, that in this country we are all innocent until proven guilty and the Mayor has that right as well.

“I feel deeply sorry for the Becker family and hope that they will find their way through this awful ordeal,” stated Bill Folk, Chairman of the Racine GOP. “I have read a number of horrible things said about the Mayor on-line and I ask people to hold their opinions of Mr. Becker until he has had his day in court; he deserves that.”

Since the District Attorney has decided to file criminal charges the Racine County Republican Party calls on the Mayor to resign and allow the city the right to move forward while he defends himself in this criminal case.

“While the community may be bigger than one person, the actions of the mayor reflect on the city of Racine. Mayor Becker should resign so that Racine’s reputation is not further tarnished.”

Just when was Becker porn first discovered?

UPDATED: See below...

Elsewhere, we've posted the full complaint presented Thursday at Mayor Gary Becker's first court appearance. It consisted of:

• two pages listing the six criminal counts charged by District Attorney Mike Nieskes;
• six pages of narrative detailing how the mayor asked an IT employee on Dec. 23, 2008, to fix his personal computer ... a request that led directly to investigators finding allegedly pornographic images of underage girls on Becker's computer, as well as 1,800 archived sexual chat conversations on a hard drive;
• and 21 pages of chats that will turn your stomach.

Take our word for it: Don't read the chats; they're disgusting.

But the most interesting point to us was two short paragraphs within the investigative narrative. Here they are:

Agent Szatkowski further reports that on or about January 14, 2009, he met with Racine city Police chief Wahlen; Wahlen states that an individual named Paul Burdick was a former information and technology employee/contractor with the City of Racine. Burdick reported that in August of 2007 he received a personal computer from Mayor Gary Becker to make repairs. Burdick reported that this computer was not City of Racine property, but was, upon information and belief, personal property of Mayor Becker. Burdick turned over a CD marked "Gary files from Becker PC family," which contained the contents of files removed from hard drive of Mayor Gary Becker's personal computer.

Agent Szatkowski states that he viewed the contents of the disk created by Burdick. Agent Szatkowski reports that he observed several images similar in nature to those observed previously from the hard drive of Mayor Becker's other personal computer. The photos include one titled "10 YO undressed from cell phone in class." The image is believed to be a minor female, displaying full frontal nudity, exposing her breasts and pubic region of her body. Based upon training and experience in investigating child pornography complaints, he believed the image to be child pornography in nature.

We're not sure -- because the writing isn't crystal clear -- but those two paragraphs say that pornography was discovered on a Becker personal computer 17 months before the one brought in for repairs on Dec. 23, 2008, that led to all that's transpired in the past couple of days. Seventeen months! But what action was taken?

What we don't know is when Burdick made Police Chief Wahlen aware of what he found on that Becker hard drive, and when he turned over that CD marked ""Gary files from Becker PC family," and to whom they were turned over. And what did that person do with them?

We asked William Cosh, spokesman for the Department of Criminal Investigation, about the discrepancy this afternoon. He wouldn't clear it up, conceding only that the questions we raised were valid, and telling us that we were the second reporter to ask him about it.

We're also unsure where the most damning evidence against Becker was found: the 1,800 online chat conversations. Another statement in the six-page narrative portion of the complaint says:

Agent Szatkowski further states that based upon observation of the contents of the aforementioned hard drives, over 1,800 online chats were discovered...

Hard drives, plural. Was it in the computer needing repair in August 2007, or the one brought in on Dec. 23, 2008? We don't know. And it's late now, and there's no way to reach the people we need to ask those questions. Something to ponder on another day...

UPDATE, Jan. 16: The Journal Times is reporting today that Michael Ferderer, the technician who repaired the Mayor's computer on Dec. 23, 2008, told authorities about the technician, Paul Burdick, who had repaired another of Becker's personal computers in August 2007. Thus, investigators -- including the Racine Police -- did not know of the 2007 discovery until recently.

One question still remains, however: why didn't Burdick report what he found in 2007... and didn't he have a legal responsibility to do so?

AND here's the official Racine Police Department response.

Mayor Becker was trying to meet 14-year-old girl, according to prosecutors

Mayor Gary Becker and his defense attorney, Patrick Cafferty,
at table left; DA Micheal Nieskes, right;
presiding is Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch

A contracted city employee Mayor Gary Becker outsourced to save money turned over the evidence to police that led to Becker's arrest, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Read the criminal complaint against Gary Becker here.

The employee turned over Becker's personal computer to police after finding pictures of naked women on the hard drive. The employee had been asked to perform maintenance on Becker's home computer, which in itself is a crime, according to the criminal complaint.

If only this was a case of a mayor abusing his power to get free computer work done. In reality, it's much worse for Becker, who appeared in court Thursday to face charges of child enticement, attempted sexual assault of a girl under 16 and possession of child pornography. If convicted, he'll serve a minimum of three years ins prison.

City officials turned the computer over to state agents, who discovered a picture of a naked 10-year-old girl on Becker's computer. They also found over 1,800 online chats he'd conducted; many chats involved juveniles and sexually explicit language.

Agents then created a fake account and posed as a 14-year-old eighth-grader who agreed to meet Becker at Brookfield Square Mall on Tuesday night. Becker said he'd be there to take the teen/agent to Victoria's Secret and then to a hotel for sex.

District Attorney Mike Nieskes answers reporters' questions

Instead, he was greeted by Department of Criminal Investigations Agent Eric Szatkowski. Becker, 51, initially told the agent he was at the mall shopping for his wife at Victoria's Secret. He said he traveled all the way to Brookfield because too many people knew him in Racine, according to the complaint. When the agent confronted him about the Internet chat, he admitted that he had chatted with the girl.

Becker outsourced the city's computer work to a private company in his 2008 budget. He estimated the move would save the city $100,000 a year, but it wasn't warmly received by the employees themselves. Regardless, the charges against Becker are far more severe than any sort of City Hall squabble, and no contract employee drove the mayor to Brookfield to meet with an underage girl.

Appearing in court Thursday, Becker looked fine. He was well-dressed and shaved, attentive to the hearing and did nothing out of the ordinary. His only faux-pas may have been knocking over his chair will standing up to leave the hearing. He didn't glance at the small crowd - mostly media - that had gathered in the hearing room in the basement of the county's Law Enforcement Center.

Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch presided over the hearing. District Attorney Mike Nieskes represented the prosecution. Defense attorney Patrick Cafferty represented Becker.

During the hearing. Rudebusch lowered Becker's bond to $10,000 cash at Cafferty's request; Becker had borrowed the $165,000 from a relative to get out of the Kenosha County Jail on Wednesday.

Nieskes requested restrictions on Becker's bail, including: no computer use, no drinking, no leaving Racine County without court permission, and no contact with underage children, except for his daughter. Rudebusch agreed.

Becker is next scheduled in court on Feb. 10 to enter his plea.

Following the hearing, Nieskes said it was too early to say if the trial would be moved to a new jurisdiction.

He added that he knew about the investigation about a week before the arrest was made. He also said that even without the arrest there was enough evidence to charge Becker with crimes.

When asked if the case would be different because it involved the mayor, Nieskes said it was his responsibilty to enforce laws and protect the public.

"Persons who engage in this types of activities are dangerous," he said.

Becker chatted on Yahoo Instant Messenger as WISC_GARY and m reed. The agent's name in the chat was Hope_Ulikeme14.

The conversation that led to the meeting at Brookfield Square Mall was explicit, with several references to sex. In the chat, Becker pleaded with the girl to send him a picture and to engage in phone sex with him.

He also gave the girl his cell phone number, which a DCI analyst called to confirm the meeting. During that call, Becker said: "We better chat more, this is too dangerous." Then, he asked the analyst if she was a "cop," and said he had to be careful and only buy her a soda.

When he arrived at the mall, the authorities were waiting.

All Saints lays off 43 employees

All Saints told its employees Wednesday that it's eliminated 43 positions because of the declining economy.

The cuts to Racine's leading medical provider falls in line with layoffs occurring throughout the Wheaton-Franciscan Healthcare system.

Along with the layoffs, All Saints cut some employees' hours and moved managers into direct-patient care. It also ended the contract with its concierge service, Best Upon Request.

Here's the letter sent out to employees:

Date: January 14, 2009
To: WFH-All Saints Associates,
WFMG South Market Physicians and Midlevels
From: Ken Buser, President and CEO, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints
Loren Meyer, MD, President and CEO, Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group
Re: Expense Control and Reduction of Workforce

As we have seen in the news and may be experiencing in our own homes, we are in the midst of an economic downturn most of us have never seen before. Unfortunately, the recession is also taking its toll on the health care industry. While we have been engaged in an Operational Excellence initiative for several years, the current environment requires us to respond by pursuing new and more efficient ways of providing care.

• Yesterday we eliminated the positions of 43 people within All Saints including four leaders. These changes affect both clinical and nonclinical areas and represent less than 2% of our workforce. The elimination of nursing staff was minimal. In all but a couple of cases, we were able to reassign nursing staff to open positions. Those associates leaving our organization will receive severance and support services consistent with their position and years of service.

• We've implemented additional changes to help bring us closer to our budget goals. One critical component to our financial performance is working to help departments meet their budget. To better match with patient volumes, some staff will experience a reduction of hours. Additionally, about 23 leaders will be shifting 50% of their time into direct patient care. Another 2% of our workforce is affected by these kinds of changes. And finally, we will continue to leave vacant positions open unless they are critical to patient care.

• Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group is changing care processes and adjusting staffing ratios consistent with current volumes. In the South Market, several WFMG positions are being eliminated in addition to a few reassignments to other areas with the Medical Group. WFMG is also reducing operational expenses and redesigning patient education programs.

• We also explored ways to redesign programs or services that were not financially sustainable, including the Comprehensive Pain Management program, Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Resolve Through Sharing, and Senior Advantage. We will continue to provide these important services to our patients through existing resources. More information about these changes will be shared with you over the coming days.

• We ended our contract with our associate concierge service, Best Upon Request, and services will end in 90 days.

All Saints and WFMG's South Market are not alone in this expense reduction work. Over the coming weeks, other Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare sites will be making additional changes as well.

Meet snappy dresser, Max

It's not often you can adopt a dog with its own wardrobe!

We're going to just assume that Max, the white Lhasa Apso pictured here, comes with the winter sweater he's wearing. Countryside Humane Society tells us that Max has been shaved -- but in a few months he will have a soft furry coat. Sure, but what about now, when the temperature is below miserable? That's where the stylish outfit comes in!

Max is a friendly six-year-old, and he's already house-trained. His family had to give him up due to allergies. Max would fit into a family with any age children or adults.

Come make his acquaintance at the Countryside Humane Society, 2706 Chicory Road, or call (262) 554-6699.

Becker posts bail, could be out of jail tonight

Mayor Gary Becker is out of jail this evening, according to Kenosha County Jail records.

The J-S is reporting that Jean Becker, a relative of Becker's, posted the $165,000 bond.

The paper also reported Racine Attorney Patrick Cafferty is representing the Racine mayor.

Becker is due in court Thursday at 1:30 p.m. for his initial appearance. Read the charges here.

It's not a big surprise Becker could afford the bond. Prior to being mayor, he ran a chain of successful drycleaning companies, which he sold.

Racine Zoo now charging county residents $1 admission on Mondays

It now costs $1 for Racine County residents to attend the Racine Zoo on Mondays.

The fee replaces "Free Mondays" that had been in effect since the zoo went to an admission fee in 2007. The decision was finalized Monday night when the Racine Zoo Board approved the organization's 2009 operating budget.

County residents and their guests will pay the reduced fee. Out-of-town visitors will pay the full rate of $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children between 3 and 15 and free for children under 3 during the "peak rate" season of April to October 31.

Rates from Nov. 1 to March 31 will be $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for children between 3 and 15, and free for children under 3.

In order to help people who cannot afford the $1 admission price, the Zoo created the Safari Club Ticket Donation Program. Individual and corporate members who receive guest admission tickets as one of their membership benefits can donate their admission tickets back to the Zoo for distribution to those in need. The tickets can be requested through the Zoo’s administrative office.

Schools and education-based organizations (e.g. Scouts, camps, etc.) with non-profit status will enjoy a $2.00 per person rate for students and chaperones with free admission for one chaperone for every eight students. Group outings for non-education based organizations will receive $1.00 off admission from April 1 through October 31. In order to receive a discount, groups must register with the Zoo at least two weeks prior to their outing date.

The Zoo will host three free days for ALL guests including Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Years Day. It will also offer free admission to mothers on Mother’s Day, fathers on Father’s Day, grandparents on Grandparent’s Day and active duty military members and veterans on Veterans Day.

The Racine Zoo is open daily. Hours between Labor Day and May 22nd are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The admission price currently is $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for children 3-15, $3.00 for seniors and children under three and Zoo Members are free. The mission of the Racine Zoological Society is to foster an enlightening and affordable wildlife experience that improves the bond between people and nature. The Society will provide for the recreation and education of the people, the conservation of wildlife and wild places, and the advancement of science.