Statement on video redactions bill SB 789

Dear 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 Reading

Opee Award Nominations Sought

Dear 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 Reading

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council statement regarding the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling in Friends of Frame Park v. City of Waukesha

The 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 Reading

March 2021: Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names ‘Opee’ winners

This 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 Reading

Nominations Sought For 2020 Opee Awards

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a nonprofit 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 (political openness award): Recognizes extraordinary service to the cause of open government by an elected or […]

Continue Reading

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council releases 2018 candidate survey results

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCT. 18, 2018 Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council releases 2018 candidate survey results Contact: Bill Lueders, president, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, blueders@gmail.com, 608-669-4712 Dear Editors: The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is pleased to make available the results of its survey of Wisconsin legislative candidates in the Nov. 6 election. We surveyed 204 candidates: […]

Continue Reading

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names ‘Opee’ winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Lueders (608) 669-4712 March 7, 2018 Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names ‘Opee’ winners Gov. Scott Walker, several journalists and a courageous private-sector employee are among those honored by the 2017-18 Openness Awards, or Opees, bestowed annually by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. The state Legislature, meanwhile, is being […]

Continue Reading

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names “Opee” winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Lueders (608) 669-4712 March 8, 2017 Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names “Opee” winners Two citizens, two journalists, one fired government worker and one small but gutsy Wisconsin newspaper are among the recipients of the 2016-17 Openness Awards, or Opees, bestowed annually by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council . […]

Continue Reading

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names “Opee” winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Lueders (608) 669-4712 March 8, 2016 Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names “Opee” winners Wisconsin’s Republican attorney general and a key GOP lawmaker are among the recipients, good and bad, of the 2015-16 Openness Awards, or Opees, bestowed annually by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. The awards, announced in […]

Continue Reading

Open Government’s Advocates to Take Show on the Road

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2016 Contact: Mark Pitsch, (608) 252-6145; Bill Lueders, (608) 669-4712 Advocates of open government in Wisconsin are planning a three-day, eight-city informational tour to highlight the importance of the state’s open records laws, in the wake of unprecedented attacks from state lawmakers and others. “An open society depends on open […]

Continue Reading