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Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

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Category: 2024 Columns

December: Long waits undercut records law

December 2, 2024Bill Lueders

The other day, in my role as an advocate for open government, I heard from a Wisconsin resident who has waited more than five months for records he requested from a local law enforcement agency. He has gently prodded the agency several times, asking, “How much more time is my request going to take?” More […]

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November: A fund to fight government secrecy

November 3, 2024Jonathan Anderson

In 2022, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council created a designated fund to help cover legal costs associated with fighting to pry records into the public domain. Called simply the WFOIC Legal Fund, it has never had more than $4,000 in its coffers. But the Council, of which I am a member, has put what […]

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October: Nursing home sale shows why transparency matters

October 1, 2024October 1, 2024Jeff Seering

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Sauk County Board voted to spend $40,500 to buy a sheriff’s department vehicle to replace one totaled in a July incident. The resolution printed on the agenda included details of the incident, the car dealer and a fiscal note explaining that the money would come from insurance accounts. This display […]

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September: Using outside record vendors brings risks

September 3, 2024Tom Kamenick

Last March, the Wisconsin Examiner asked the Black River Falls Police Department to search for emails regarding the death of a missing Indigenous man. The department said it would process the request but the news outlet would have to pay $4,400. That’s the amount the city’s IT vendor, Tech Pros, quoted to perform the search. […]

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August: Guides help public navigate openness laws

August 1, 2024Christa Westerberg

You ask for a record from your local government, you get it. You want to attend a meeting of a public body, you can walk right in. Much of the time, it’s that simple. Wisconsin’s open records law entitles citizens to most records regarding the affairs of government, and its open meetings law creates a […]

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July: Redaction costs threaten police video access

July 1, 2024July 4, 2024Bill Lueders

The bill moved with lightning speed. It was introduced last December, passed the state Senate in January and the Assembly in February, and was signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers in March. 2023 Wisconsin Act 253 allows police and corrections officials to charge some requesters of video and audio recordings for the cost of […]

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June: Officials must bear burden of proof in records cases

June 4, 2024Tom Kamenick

Imagine I sue a school district for refusing to provide copies of records. Do I have to prove I’m entitled to them, or does the district have to prove it can withhold them? That’s a question the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, along with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, […]

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May: Rights clash in records dispute

May 6, 2024May 6, 2024Matthew DeFour

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving records related to the voting rights of mentally incompetent people. No matter which side wins, the public has in some ways already lost. That’s because while the case pits the public’s right to scrutinize voter eligibility against the rights of voters to protect their own […]

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April: Shine more light on open investigations

April 2, 2024Kelly Lecker

A horrific scene played out in February in an apartment complex in Middleton, a Madison suburb. A woman and her two young children had died. The tight-knit community mourned for this family as its members asked: How could this happen? Several days after the shootings, Middleton police released a statement saying the mother had killed […]

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March: Opees honor efforts to promote transparency

March 4, 2024July 1, 2024Bill Lueders

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 […]

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February: Don’t charge records requesters for redactions

February 1, 2024Amanda St. Hilaire

You’ve already paid for them. They’re yours. But if you want to see the public records that show what your government is doing, some state lawmakers want you to pay again — this time, for redactions. That’s right. They want you to pay more to get less. Currently, the state’s Open Records Law allows public […]

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January: Limit privacy protections for police

January 2, 2024January 2, 2024WisFOIC

Law enforcement officers in Winnebago County shot three people in 2023, one fatally. And while we know the names of the people shot, the identities of those who pulled the trigger remain secret. The fatal shooting, on Aug. 2, was of an armed 37-year-old man at a Neenah gas station by an Outagamie County sheriff’s […]

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Recent Posts

  • May: When people die, openness matters
  • April: Improve access to municipal court records
  • March: Opee Awards highlight highs and lows
  • February: How cost is used to deny access to records
  • Wisconsin FOIC Seeking Opee Award Nominations through Jan. 31, 2025

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