State Sen. Tim Cullen and State Sen. Dale Schultz are doing something nearly unheard of in politics these days ... reaching across party lines to work together.

I don’t think I’m alone in hoping their efforts are contagious.

Schultz, a Republican from Richland Center, and Cullen, a Democrat from Janesville, have spent time over the past month touring each other’s district and learning about the issues that affect the people who live there.

“We must take it upon ourselves to remember there is always room for cooperation,” Cullen wrote in his latest newsletter.

During a tour of Janesville Aug. 8, Cullen and Schultz listened to a presentation from Rock County 5.0, an effort of local businesses and government to find ways of moving the area’s economy forward.

The pair also sat down with leaders of ECHO, the lead Janesville agency in the area of helping people with food and rent.

“As a society, we need to understand that we need to grow the economy, but also we are our brothers’ keepers,” Schultz was quoted as saying in the Janesville Gazette. “If we can learn how to do those two things, I think our future will be bright.”

Schulz and Cullen haven’t shied away from challenging their own party’s leaders. Both were at the center of the controversy this spring over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill.

Cullen was one of the Democrats who fled to Illinois to stall a vote on the budget repair bill that fundamentally changed retirement and collective bargaining for public employees.

Although Cullen joined his fellow Democrats in blocking a vote on the bill, he also led a group of senators who met secretly with Republicans to work out a compromise.

One of those compromise proposals was made by Schultz, who pitched a plan to have the collective bargaining provision last only two years.

In the end, Schultz was the lone Republican senator to vote against the budget repair bill.

Now, after the recent recall elections, both Schultz and Cullen have been thrust into the role of dealmakers after Democrats picked up two Senate seats, leaving Republicans with a slim 17-16 majority.

The Republican caucus now must hold onto Schultz’s vote in order to pass any of its proposals. That gives Schultz tremendous leverage in the look of legislation that moves through the Senate.

With Schultz and Cullen working to forge a framework of cooperation, the new political dynamic in Madison could go a long way in smoothing the rancor of the past six months.

Editor’s note: Dan Plutchak is an associate editor for CSI Media, publisher of the Janesville Messenger, Walworth County Sunday and the Stateline News. Contact him at dplutchak@communityshoppers.com, on Facebook.com/CSIMedia or on Twitter @ danplutchak

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Tyler August is looking for a place to live on the other side of Geneva Lake now that Gov. Scott Walker has signed the Assembly and Senate redistricting plan.  

As Todd Mishler explains in this week’s cover story, the census every 10 years creates a domino effect of redistricting scenarios from federal to state on down to county districts.

Republicans, who control both the Senate and Assembly, had free rein this time around to draw the lines as they please. Democrats, as is typical of the minority party, filed a lawsuit to block the plan, but late last month, a panel of federal judges in Milwaukee refused to take up Wisconsin’s political redistricting fight. Although another federal lawsuit alleging the Legislature’s maps are unconstitutional is still pending, Walker signed the legislation late Tuesday.

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Has GM done the city of Janesville any favors by keeping the former assembly plant on standby status? The auto giant and its United Auto Workers union have been in negotiations for a week and a half on a new contract, and the fate of the plant could be decided before all is said and done.

The sooner they make a decision on Janesville, the sooner Janesville can begin to move on.

Two weeks ago, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a lengthy article cautiously titled, “Janesville GM plant not likely to reopen, many say.”

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