Category: 2005 Columns

Let’s set aside the question of whether Wisconsin should have a “concealed carry” for handguns, and instead turn to the issue of whether permit carriers’ identities should be kept secret. On Nov. 2, a joint public hearing on the concealed carry bill will be held by the Assembly Criminal Justice and Homeland Security and the […]

Freedom of information, like all of our freedoms, demands our watchfulness if the rights of the public are to be preserved. Public records and open meetings are a cornerstone of clean and open government. The ability of citizens to monitor and participate in government depends on it. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to fight for this […]

Wisconsin’s Open Records Law, passed in 1981, is clear and unequivocal. It says the public is entitled to “the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government” and the actions of officials and employees, and that “only in an exceptional case may access be denied.” But the Wisconsin Supreme Court seems bent on making these […]

It was apparent in early 2004 to anyone attending the monthly meetings of the Ozaukee County Board that supervisors were quite familiar with Internet technology, thank you. It was obvious because they routinely discussed county business via e-mail prior to county board meetings. Supervisors would refer to their online conversations during public debate. Some would […]

As identified by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council 1. High costs. The Open Records Law states that custodians may charge only the the “actual, necessary and direct cost” of reproducing records, and in some cases (when more than $50) of locating records. Yet media and other requesters are sometimes asked to pay exorbitant amounts […]

Former newspaper editor Peter Fox recalls the “sick feeling” he got when he discovered his newspaper had been misled by Racine County officials who were withholding a much-anticipated report on problems at the county jail. It was 1987, and rumors abounded that a report commissioned by the county’s corporation counsel examining overcrowding and dangers at […]

The State of Wisconsin Elections Board enters into a $13 million contract with Accenture to create a statewide voter registration system. Certain lawmakers and pundits go wild, accusing Accenture of incompetence and threatening a legal challenge to the Elections Board’s action. Do these critics have a point? How did the Board settle on Accenture? The […]

Last spring, the newspaper I work for had a problem obtaining some public records from our local school district. Officials there demanded that we first send a check for $613.08 to cover the costs they expected to incur reviewing the records and deciding what information to black out. These costs put the records effectively beyond […]