La Crosse DA in favor of bill further staffing prosecutor’s offices

A bill that has passed the Wisconsin Assembly, designed to add more staff to prosecutor’s offices across the state, has La Crosse District Attorney Tim Gruenke excited.

THE DA, who has been at his post since July, 2007, says there’s been a lot of frustration over the years.

“It’s been over 10 years since we’ve had any additional positions granted here in La Crosse,” said Gruenke, whose salary is $114,855.52, according to the State Journal database. “We’ve repeatedly had to request them but always been rejected because of budget reasons.”

Gruenke hasn’t had more than eight attorneys in his La Crosse County office in nearly 15 years. He says this bill, which will cost around $4 million, would allow for the county to apply for two extra bodies.

“Whatever comes into our door we have to deal with,” Gruenke said. “As the number of cases go up, it just means you have to spend less on cases you’d want to spend more times on. Victims wouldn’t get the attention they would need, cases don’t get the attention that they would need.”