Author: Ernst-Ulrich Franzen

After 35 years of reporting on government, I’m not sure how much I’ve learned, but I do have some observations. First, most politicians, government officials and staff want to do a good job and faithfully represent their constituents’ interests at city hall, the state Capitol, and in Congress. Second, most probably prefer to not have […]

State Attorney General Brad Schimel has been a stand-up guy when it comes to open government issues in Wisconsin since he took over the Department of Justice in 2015. He created an office of open government , held a summit on government transparency, worked to improve records request response times within his own office, and […]

In a recent column, state Attorney General Brad Schimel called for updating the state’s open government laws to meet the challenges of the digital age. He’s exactly right. The laws were enacted long before the Internet — let alone Facebook and Twitter — came into being. They must be updated and strengthened to make sure […]