For information concerning our Foreclosure Campaign please go to our Faces of Foreclosure website. Faces of Foreclosure

Health Care

Plans are still underway for the roll out of the Common Ground sponsored Health Insurance cooperative for small businesses, non-profits, the self-employed and unions.  The timetable is to begin enrollment in April with the insurance effective in June.  Stay tuned for an announcement of the timetable for action.  If you have questions contact Bob Connolly at 414 272-0101 or Email

Sherman Park

The Sherman Park Common Ground Team will be holding a meeting with area neighborhood leaders, St. Joseph Hospital representatives and the Faith-based community at Wheaton-Fransiscan St. Joseph Campus on Monday, March 15th.  We will be setting the focus of the 2010 Spring/Summer Campaign in the Sherman Park area in regards to foreclosed and abandoned homes and general safety issues. Plan to join us from 6:30-8:00pm on Monday, March 15th.

Waukesha County

There has been a growing interest to build a Common Ground presence in Waukesha County and a team has been diligently working on this over the last few months.  They have conducted numerous listening sessions and several more are scheduled for this spring.  Through these listening sessions potential members, leaders and local issues are emerging.  As a way to continue to build on these efforts, and to report on what has transpired to date, Common Ground is holding a gathering for Waukesha County on Tuesday, March 16 from 7:00 to 8:30pm at St. Anthony on the Lake Parish (W280 N2101 Hwy. SS, Pewaukee) Directions 

For more information on what Common Ground is doing in Waukesha County, contact Heather Dummer Combs,  Email or 414-559-6608.

Friends of Common Ground

To date our Friends campaign has raised $163,000 from 57 donors.  Our goal is to get to $300,000. Some 30 potential donors are now being approached.  if you woudl like to contribute and join the campaign contact Bob Connolly at 414 272-0101 or Email

We will have updates on the Faces of Foreclosure Campaign, Health Care Insurance Co-op and election of new Strategy Team members whose biographies follow:

Eileen Asbell - A native of Upstate New York, Eileen has been a member of St. Michael’s Congregation since moving to Milwaukee in 1985.  She has served the parish in a variety of paid and volunteer positions and is currently completing a three plus year commitment on parish council.  Her professional training and work experience is in education.  After spending ten years in MPS, she is now working with the 5/6 unit at Woodlands School.  She has been involved with Common Ground for over two years, serving on the Youth Jobs and Communications teams.  Eileen and her husband Paul live on Milwaukee’s west side and have two adult children.

Frank Finch III - Frank is the financial secretary for Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church .  He spent four years in the marine corp and is a Vietnam Vet where he served two years.  Frank worked fifteen years with the Milwaukee County Transit and two years with MPS as a psych service aide.  Frank is married to Sherry and has three children, Denzil, Joyce and Keith.  Frank has been a Sherman Park homeowner for 28 years.

Susan Giaimo - Sue is a political scientist at Marquette University, where she teaches and researches on comparative public policy and health policy in particular.  She has long wanted to use her knowledge and interests beyond academia to help the community she lives in.  She is a native Milwaukeean, though lived in other cities and countries for over a decade until moving back here in 2003.  She now lives in Wauwatosa with her husband and son.  Since her return, she has seen stark changes in the Milwaukee area – some good, some bad – and wanted to get involved with others interested in the community.  So for the past three years she has been a part of Common Ground through her church, St. Catherine’s Parish of Milwaukee.  Sue serves on the Common Ground core team at St. Catherine’s and the Common Ground health research committee.  But she would like to deepen her commitment to Common Ground to work with others on issues that matter to our members and our neighbors.   The Strategy Team would give her the chance to do this.

Jim Gramentine - Jim has been a member of St. Paul’s Church (Episcopal) on the near east side since 1987, though he lives in Mequon. At church he has served as junior and senior warden and chaired the outreach committee for several years, stepping down in June 2009 to concentrate on coordinating the Common Ground Core Team. Retired from a long career of teaching history and administration in independent schools, including University School of Milwaukee, he has in recent years been active in and chaired the board of the national Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. 

Dorota Pruski - Dorota has been active in Common Ground since graduating from Marquette in 2006, when she began a year-long internship working for the organization.  Not only has her involvement enabled her to pursue her passion for social justice, but it also led Dorota to St. James’ Episcopal Church, where she is an active member and current leader of the core team.  She has also participated in the IAF National Training, Common Ground U, and was co-leader of the initial housing issue campaign.  Dorota lives and works in a freshman dorm on Marquette’s campus, serving as a Residence Hall Minister.

Please save the date and plan to attend the March 23rd Delegates Action.

Sixty Common Ground leaders packed onto a bus and into cars for a trip to Madison, where we met with over 30 Assembly and Senate representatives and aides to:

1. Enlist support for Representative Richards’ bill that prohibits the State of Wisconsin from conducting business with a financial institution holding more than 100 foreclosed homes across the state
2. Ask the same legislators to send letters to the three banks in question requesting that bank officials meet with Common Ground
3. Develop relationships with these state legislators

We will continue to follow the status of the bill and build relationships with these state legislators in order to gain their support in this and future campaigns.

In support of CG’s Faces of Foreclosure campaign, Rep.  Jon Richards has introduced a bill in the state legislature that would prohibit the state from doing business with any bank that holds more than 100 homes that are in foreclosure in the state.

On Tuesday February 16th Common Ground will go to Madison to meet with our representatives and other state officials to ask for their support of this bill.

If you are CG member and are able to join us please send us an Email

We’ll meet at a central location by 9 a.m., (Location TBD) and take a bus together.  During the trip, we’ll be briefed on whom we’re meeting with and what we’re asking for.

Once again this month,  Common Ground received news coverage regarding the Faces of Foreclosure campaign. This time from WISN ABC 12 and WITI FOX 6.  Articles were also in the Marquette Tribune, Biz Times , Daily Reporter and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 1/27/2010.

On January 25, 2010 0ver 300 Common Ground leaders and members gathered to launch the Faces of Foreclosure Campaign at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

The goal is to work with 3 banks – Deutsche Bank, US Bank and Wells Fargo – and for them to clean up their part of the foreclosure crisis in South East Wisconsin.

Common Ground also launched a Web site specifically dedicated to this campaign.  www.FacesOfForeclosureWI.org

Read the January 20th Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Georgia Pabst here

Listen to the January 20th radio broadcast on Milwaukee Public Radio’s WUWM here.

Watch the WITI Fox 6 story from January 19th here

Watch the WTMJ NBC Channel 4 story from January 19th here.

On January 19, 2010 Common Ground released it’s Foreclosure Research and Action Report. The report identifies the need for three banks – Deutsche Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo – to take responsibility for their part in the foreclosure crisis and meet three demands:

Sell Responsibly:  Stop selling to speculators and work with us to develop a plan to sell to responsible owners.

Tear Down the Bad Ones: Pay for the demolition of the properties beyond rehabilitation and donate the land to a community trust for future residential construction.

Fix the Salvageable Ones: Each bank contributes $25 Million towards a $75 Million fund, which will be used to rehabilitate and sell these properties.

The report can be downloaded here:  CG_FOF_ResearchReport_web

On January 25 in the Alumni Memorial Union at Marquette University we will be holding our Delegates’ Action to launch the Faces of Foreclosure campaign.  The Delegates’ Action will be from 7:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.

Health Care

The Health Care reform discussions in Washington are impacting our work on the Health Insurance Cooperative.  We expect to be able to roll out the Co-op in March with the insurance in effect in April.  The behind-the-scenes planning for the marketing and administration of the Co-op continues.  Whatever reforms are approved will take two or three years to implement so we expect the Co-op to be operative and strong by the time of implementation and perhaps play a part in whatever the future brings.  We thank everyone for their patience.  We get calls each week about the Co-op.  Small businesses and non-profits are getting 30% – 40% rate increases as Insurance Companies pile up cash.  We expect the next Health Care Team meeting to be in February.

Friends of Common Ground

We continue efforts to raise $300,000 over the next years in order to hire 1 1/2 new organizers to staff Common Ground.  To date we have 50 gift commitments totaling $156,832. There are a number of major gift requests we hope to hear about very soon. Thanks to those who have contributed.  We will be having a thank you gathering for current and future “friends” on February 3 from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. at the Milwaukee Athletic Club.  If you would like to make a gift, contact our treasurer, Bob Connolly at 414-272-0101 or bconnolly@jamescompany.com. 

During the Action the Faces of Foreclosure Campaign will be launched.  Please plan to attend.