Baraboo News Republic recognized for open records efforts
The Baraboo News Republic describes its Opee award and the connection to its two sister publications.
Continue ReadingHilbert Village President Ken Stenklyft wins open records award
The Appleton Post-Crescent describes the Opee award for Hilbert Village President Ken Stenklyft, who resigned his county board seat rather than stay silent about an open records issue.
Continue ReadingSunshine Week 2012: The Importance of Access to Public Records
March 11 through 17 is Sunshine Week. Wisconsin has some of the strongest “sunshine laws” in the country, and I salute all of the Wisconsin records custodians, meeting organizers and others who diligently perform their duties under these laws. This spring, an important public records case is pending in our Wisconsin Supreme Court: Milwaukee Journal […]
Continue ReadingMarch: Lawmakers on both ends of openness awards
As part of national Sunshine Week, March 11-17, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is bestowing its annual “Opee” Awards for openness in government. And Wisconsin state lawmakers have been tapped for both kinds of awards — good as well as bad. Six Opees are being given to eight individuals for 2011-12. The winners get […]
Continue ReadingMarch: Let the sunshine in… please
It’s time once again for proponents of open government and the free flow of information to celebrate Sunshine Week. But this year, we’ll be doing it under a cloud. The March 11-17 commemoration is sponsored by the American Society of News Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists and other groups. It occurs annually during the […]
Continue ReadingNational 2012 FOI Summit to convene in Madison
February 16, 2012 Contact:Kenneth Bunting, NFOIC executive director, (573) 882-3075, buntingk@missouri.eduBill Lueders, WFOIC president, (608) 669-4712, blueders@wisconsinwatch.org COLUMBIA, MO — The National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) announced that it will join the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (WFOIC) in hosting the 2012 FOI Summit in Madison, WI, May 11-12. The annual FOI Summit, a […]
Continue ReadingFebruary: Work rules can’t be hashed out in secret
When members of the Columbia County Board committee that handles employment issues voted to go into closed session on Jan. 4, a reporter from the Daily Register newspaper in Portage and a local representative of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) objected. The two critics pointed out that under the controversial […]
Continue ReadingHolperin urges end to legislative records exemption
The Lakeland Times covers the story of the efforts of State Sen. Jim Holperin’s efforts to end the Legislature’s exemption from the public records retention law.
Continue ReadingSinging about photographer’s rights
Here’s a funny and instructive video on the right of citizens to take photos in public, courtesy of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
Continue ReadingJournalist Dick Wheeler chosen for Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJan. 31, 2012CONTACT: Andy Hall, 608-262-3642, ahall@wisconsinwatch.org Journalist Dick Wheeler chosen for Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award Dick Wheeler, the late founder of the Wheeler Report, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award in recognition of his four decades of tirelessly opening Wisconsin state government to public scrutiny. The […]
Continue ReadingNominees sought for Opee Awards
Wis. Freedom of Information Council to honor whistleblower, openness advocates The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a state group devoted to protecting public access to meetings and records, is seeking nominees from news organizations and others for its annual Opee Awards, which are presented in March, just prior to national Sunshine Week, which this year […]
Continue ReadingJanuary: Gun permit secrecy shields law’s impact
Wisconsin citizens who obtain a simple permit now have the right to carry concealed weapons, in most public places. According to the governor and the majority of state legislators, that’s going to make the state a safer place. Unfortunately, though, we’ll never know for sure. That’s because the Legislature saw fit to exempt the permitting […]
Continue ReadingDecember: Walker has mixed record on openness
Earlier this year, after Gov. Scott Walker was sued for the release of the thousands of emails he received at the height of the Capitol union protests, he posted a message on his web page: “Please know that any communications may be subject to release under Wisconsin’s public records law and that our policy is […]
Continue ReadingLetter to Chief Flynn regarding the arrests of photojournalists in Milwaukee
November 11, 2011 Chief Edward FlynnMilwaukee Police Department951 North James Lovell StreetMilwaukee, WI 53233 Re: Recent Photojournalists’ Arrests Dear Chief Flynn: The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (“WFOIC”) writes this letter to express its concern about the Department’s recent arrests of photojournalists performing their duties in Milwaukee, including Clinton Fillinger on September 19, 2011, and […]
Continue ReadingNovember: End lawmakers’ ability to purge records
No one deserves more credit for forging Wisconsin’s traditions of open government than the state Legislature. From passing the nation’s first public records law in 1849, one year after Wisconsin became a state, to the last major update of our Open Records and Open Meetings Laws in the early 1980s, the Legislature has been […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council decries arrests for filming Legislature
For immediate release Contact: Bill Lueders, (608) 669-4712 The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is deeply concerned about the arrests of citizens for filming the Wisconsin Legislature, a right expressly afforded by the state’s Open Meetings Law. “These arrests appear to violate the spirit and the letter of the Open Meetings Law which, ironically enough, […]
Continue ReadingOctober: Photojournalist’s arrest is troubling
On Sept. 19, Clinton Fillinger was arrested while doing his job — perhaps because he was doing it. The 68-year-old veteran photojournalist, employed by Milwaukee’s WITI Fox6, was filming a house fire from behind yellow police tape. A Milwaukee police sergeant approached and ordered Fillinger to move back, “all the way back.” Fillinger’s video […]
Continue ReadingSeptember: Contacts with lawmakers should be public
Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, is an insurance agent who sponsored an auto insurance bill in January, one of the first bills to pass the new Legislature. His opponents pegged him as the insurance industry’s best friend; Nygren said he was following the will of the people, many of whom had told him their auto insurance […]
Continue ReadingOct. 14, 2010
Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of Oct. 14, 2010 meeting Capital Newspapers auditorium 1) Call to order and introductions. Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Present were Dee Hall, Anita Weier, Bob Dreps, Perry Boxx, Tom Bier, Dave Zweifel, Doug Wojcik, Roger Schneider, John Dye, Beth Bennett, Gina Duwe, Bob Drechsel, Erica […]
Continue ReadingJan. 20, 2011
Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of the Jan. 20, 2011 meeting Capital Newspapers auditorium 1) Meeting was called to order at 1:31 p.m. – Present were Dee Hall, Chris Hardie, Beth Bennett, Michelle Vetterkind, Gina Duwe, Bob Drechsel, Anita Weier, Michael Buelow, George Stanley, Roger Schneider, Dave Pyle, Steve Lovejoy, Bob Dreps, Dick Record, […]
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