Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council
A representative government is dependent on an informed electorate
For the 18th straight year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is recognizing outstanding efforts to protect the state’s tradition of open government through its Openness in Government awards, or Opees. The awards are being presented as part of national Sunshine Week, March 10 to 16. Winners have been invited to claim their award at […]
Continue ReadingDear Council members and supporters, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders is calling on Gov. Tony Evers to veto a bill that has overwhelmingly passed both houses of the state legislature. The bill, SB 789, would make those who request video footage from law enforcement and corrections agencies pay for the cost of […]
Continue ReadingDear Council members and supporters: The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that works to protect access to public meetings and records, is now accepting nominations for its annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees. Awards are given in six categories: Popee (public openness award): Recognizes extraordinary service to the cause of […]
Continue ReadingIn mid-August, in my role as a press advocate, I received a call from the owner of a small, vibrant, online community newspaper who was worried about publishing a story that reflected poorly on a local business. The paper had checked and rechecked its facts, and gave the business repeated opportunities to comment. But still, […]
Continue ReadingIn early April, I requested some records from the Madison Police Department regarding what it said was the sole disciplinary action taken against an MPD officer or employee in the first three months of this year. It was an exceedingly minor matter — a sergeant who got a one-day suspension for sending an “unprofessional email […]
Continue ReadingFor the 17th consecutive year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council has named its annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees, in honor of national Sunshine Week, March 12-18. Five winners and one loser were selected from among an uncommonly large number of nominations. And the Opees go to: Public Openness Award (“Popee”): Jim O’Keefe. […]
Continue ReadingMany people in Wisconsin are under the impression that the disastrous probe into the state’s 2020 presidential election conducted by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is over, as are its costs to taxpayers. They’re wrong. The probe, conducted over 14 months by Gableman at the behest of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, failed to […]
Continue ReadingThe Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling today in Friends of Frame Park vs. City of Waukesha is a body blow to the state’s traditions of open government. It undermines the provision in the open records law that allows litigants to recover actual costs and attorney’s fees in cases in which access to records is wrongfully denied. […]
Continue ReadingMost of the time, public officials in Wisconsin obey the state’s openness laws. Sometimes, they need a little prodding from the courts. But the recent conduct of Robin Vos and Michael Gableman is something altogether new, and deeply disturbing. Both Vos, the speaker of the state Assembly, and Gableman, whom Vos hired at taxpayer expense […]
Continue ReadingEven Staush Gruszynski didn’t want this to happen. The former state Assembly representative from Green Bay is the subject of an ongoing legal battle over records regarding his sexual harassment of a female staffer. A judge ruled in late June that the Legislature violated the state’s open records law in denying media requesters access to […]
Continue ReadingIt happens all the time. A member of the public or representative of the press will file a request under Wisconsin’s open records law, which applies to all state and local government entities. But instead of records, the requester gets a bill. “The city will require pre-payment in full before we begin fulfilling your request,” […]
Continue ReadingDear Council members and supporters: The Wisconsin Department of Justice yesterday released a new advisory to public bodies regarding public meetings in the age of COVID-19. While it falls short of saying that holding maskless meetings with no opportunity for people to attend remotely is a violation of the Open Meetings Law, it does set […]
Continue ReadingThis year’s Openness in Government (Opee) Awards recognize Wisconsin’s largest newspaper for its dogged records-based coverage of the pandemic and its commitment to the cause of transparency in government, as well as a government agency that led the way in providing a maximum amount of information on COVID-19. Other winners include a municipal judge who […]
Continue ReadingFor the 15th consecutive year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is presenting its Openness in Government Awards, or Opees, recognizing outstanding achievement in the cause of transparency. Several of this years’ awards are related to the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced wholesale changes in how government officials conduct the public’s business. All are predicated […]
Continue ReadingLast January, a person involved in local emergency management asked the Office of Open Government, part of the state Justice Department, whether emergency preparedness coalitions run by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) are subject to the state’s open meetings and open records laws. The answer to this question, it turns out, is yes. […]
Continue ReadingRecently, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information issued a statement calling for greater transparency and accountability from law enforcement. They were joined by more than 50 groups, including the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and the Wisconsin Transparency Project. “Trust is a key element […]
Continue ReadingBelieve it or not, this has been a relatively quiet time on the open government front. In my role with the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, I often field calls from reporters and citizens regarding the problems they are experiencing getting access to public meetings and records. In recent weeks, those calls are down, way […]
Continue ReadingThe Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council supports the advice issued today by the State Justice Department regarding public meetings in the era of the coronavirus. The department advises public bodies to continue providing notices of public meetings, while conducting them via conference calls or remote access that the public can join in on. It also […]
Continue ReadingEvery year brings forth new heroes and villains with regard to Wisconsin’s somewhat tattered tradition of open government. This year, it seems, we have had more heroes. In fact, in two categories for its annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council was unable to settle on only a single […]
Continue ReadingEarly in his administration, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers was asked to produce a letter he’d gotten from departing Gov. Scott Walker, during the transition. He initially refused, claiming it was a “purely personal” communication outside of the reach of the state’s open records law. When the Associated Press asked me for comment, in my role […]
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