Phil Hands is the editorial cartoonist for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, Wis. He is the only cartoonist on the staff of a newspaper in Wisconsin.

Phil is a fierce political moderate, and his cartoons attack the extremists on both the left and the right. He learned long ago that no political party has a monopoly on bad ideas.

His cartoons have appeared in publications like USA Today, Newsweek, Time and The Washington Post. While many of his cartoons tackle national issues, they are generally crafted specifically for his audience in Wisconsin.

Phil has won a number of state awards for editorial cartooning and was the 2012 recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi award for editorial cartooning for newspapers with circulation under 100,000.

Born in Syracuse, NY in 1980, Phil grew up in the Detroit area, and his experience with that dysfunctional town has shaped his political philosophy. He remains conscious of the caustic politics of race, sympathetic to plight of the urban poor, and skeptical of big government theories that helped destroy his hometown. Phil lives in the liberal stronghold of Madison where is center of the road politics get him confused with members of the Tea Party. He lives with his very understanding wife, Tricia and two adorable children, Owen and Claire. In his spare time he enjoys drinking coffee, eating cheese and being cold.