Category: In the news

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Lueders (608) 669-4712 blueders@gmail.com March 10, 2022 Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names ‘Opee’ winners A citizen concerned about plans to develop a city park, an alderperson who felt his colleagues broke the law and a district attorney who filed charges against a town for open records violations are among […]

Dear 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 […]

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 […]

The 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 […]

There were more heroes than villains in this year’s Openness Awards, or Opees, bestowed annually by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. In fact, in two categories, there was more than one winner. Both a former state employee who rebuffed a committee’s efforts to embrace secrecy and an attorney who launched a law firm devoted […]

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 […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Bill Lueders (608) 669-4712 March 6, 2019 Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names ‘Opee’ winners Wisconsin’s largest newspaper and a small Madison paper produced mostly by teens are among the honorees of the 2019 Openness Awards, or Opees, bestowed annually by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, along with awards to […]

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 […]

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: […]

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 […]

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 . […]

The Milwaukee Press Club will host the Open Government Traveling Show – a panel discussion about the Wisconsin open meetings and open records laws – at a Newsmaker Luncheon on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 as part of the national celebration of open government known as Sunshine Week. The public is invited to attend the event from […]

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 […]

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 […]