Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

Whoever wins the Nov. 3 election to become Wisconsin’s next governor — whether it be Republican Tom Tiffany or Democrat David Crowley — will inherit a state whose long tradition of open government is replete with opportunities for improvement. With that in mind, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council last month sent questionnaires about government […]

Requesting public records in Wisconsin can sometimes mean waiting weeks, months and even longer for government officials and agencies to respond. What could help speed things along? At the state Department of Justice, which has recently come under scrutiny for its own delays in releasing records, Attorney General Josh Kaul says the agency he leads […]

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission’s new dashboard tries to make campaign finance information more accessible to the public. It cost $285,000 to build, and will cost more than $270,000 to maintain over two years, plus another $20,000 to eliminate erroneous and duplicative records, according to Daniel Carlton, administrator of the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. “The biggest gain […]

The two most common complaints I hear from people seeking public records are “Why is it taking so long?” and “Why does it cost so much?” Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to mount a successful legal challenge to delays or fees because of the way the state’s laws are worded. Wisconsin’s Open Records Law imposes no […]

Wisconsin’s Open Records law gives requesters the right to request records from their government. After all, as the law states, “a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate.” But how to get started? Under the law, “any person” can make a request for records from any Wisconsin state or local government agency or official, […]

In advance of national Sunshine Week (sunshineweek.org), March 15-21, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council has named the winners of its 20th annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees. These recognize outstanding efforts to protect the state’s tradition of open government, as well as highlight some threats to it. Winners have been invited to appear […]

The headlines are full of stories about the Trump administration’s aggressive new approach to immigration enforcement. We hear about ICE raids and mass deportations. But there’s another, less publicized policy change that’s making it difficult for immigrants to defend themselves from deportation, even when they have a strong claim for immigration relief. The Department of […]

Every year in Wisconsin state government, billions of taxpayer dollars are spent on programs and policies that impact every citizen, community, school and business. While many people roll their eyes and tune out the sometimes messy, partisan, unpredictable work of state government, WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network encourages citizens to lean in. For the past 18 […]

In 2018, a mobile home park owner in Stevens Point lost his operator’s license after submitting falsified drinking water samples to the state, purportedly leaving longtime residents of the park at risk of consuming excess iron and manganese. He appealed. In 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources authorized the spreading of human waste on […]

All too often, secrecy and confidentiality carry the day in proceedings of state and local government. In one recent case, the name “Microsoft” on a state Public Service Commission filing was redacted – blocked from public view – along with pages and pages of other information. The redactions served no purpose, as the company’s role […]

In a 2007 ruling known as Zellner v. Cedarburg School District, the Wisconsin Supreme Court declared that because public school teachers “are entrusted with the responsibility of teaching children,” the public has a clear right to know about allegations of misconduct against educators. I wonder what the justices would think of a school district trying […]

As homelessness grows across Wisconsin, social service agencies are feeling a crunch. The federal government is slashing funding for tackling the problem, and state lawmakers aren’t helping much either. Reporters for Wisconsin Watch, the nonprofit news organization for which I work, unpacked those challenges in a mid-July story. They noted the Legislature’s budget writing committee […]