A representative government is dependent on an informed electorate
Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Capital Newspapers Auditorium Minutes of the Jan. 15, 2015 meeting 1) Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 1:32 p.m. In attendance were Dee Hall, Bob Dreps, Dustin Brown, John Foust, David Haynes, Ernst-Ulrich Franzen, Orville Seymer, Michael Buelow, Holly Henschen, Michelle Vetterkind, Larry Gallup, Julia Hunter, […]
Continue ReadingIt’s a pretty simple question for a public official: “What exactly do you do with your time?” Sometimes, the best way to answer that question is to obtain the official’s calendar, through the state’s open records law. In my work as a reporter, I’ve done this for the state treasurer and his staff, who work […]
Continue ReadingRecently, I was told by a court official in Outagamie County that federal law prohibited the release of the name of a man I had just heard speak in open court. He was a participant in the county’s Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court. He had been charged with driving while intoxicated as a fourth offense, […]
Continue ReadingFollowing the Aug. 9 police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, citizens and the public demanded to know the involved officer’s name. The Ferguson Police Department stirred national attention, and some outrage, by waiting six days to reveal it: Officer Darren Wilson. Wisconsin has Ferguson beat. On April 30, 2014, a […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of the July 10, 2014 meeting Capital Newspapers auditorium 1) Call to order and introductions. The meeting was called to order at 2:04 p.m. Attending were Bill Lueders, Dee Hall, Steve Lovejoy, Andy Hall, Dave Haynes, Bob Dreps, Michelle Johnson, Michael Buelow, Chris Hardie, Tom Bier, Bob Drechsel, Mark […]
Continue ReadingMary Burke was succinct. She used a single word —“Yes” — to answer four of six questions from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council about open government. The Democratic candidate for governor responded affirmatively when asked if she would: Release a detailed weekly calendar in advance listing her appointments, public meetings and travel schedule. […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of April 14, 2014 meeting Capital Newspapers auditorium 1) Call to order and introductions. The meeting was called to order at 2:07 p.m. Attending were Chris Hardie, Dan Flannery, Dave Haynes, Bob Dreps, Michelle Vetterkind, Beth Bennett, Andy Hall, Dee Hall, Bill Lueders, Doug Wojcik, Bob Drechsel, Dave Zweifel, […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council June 27, 2013 Capital Newspapers Auditorium 1) Call to order. Meeting was called to order at 2:10 p.m. In attendance were Dee Hall, Bill Lueders, Mark Pitsch, Dave Bennett, Beth Bennett, Mary Callen, John Dye, Mike King, Doug Wojcik, Tom Bier, Michael Buelow, David Haynes, Andy Hall and Bob Dreps, […]
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Continue ReadingWhen state employees misbehave, does the public have a right to know who they are? Two state agencies are answering that question in different ways. Both the state Department of Justice and Department of Natural Resources have in the recent past blacked out the names of state workers from records of disciplinary actions released to […]
Continue ReadingIn Wisconsin, the office of attorney general has the authority to interpret and prosecute the state’s open records and open meetings laws. It is arguably the most important office in the state for promoting and defending our tradition of open government. With that in mind, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council asked the three Democrats […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council Minutes of Jan. 23, 2014 meeting Capital Newspapers auditorium 1) Call to order and introductions. The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. In attendance were Dee Hall, Steve Lovejoy, Mark Stodder, Dave Haynes, Michael Buelow, Tom Bier, Doug Wojcik, Mary Callen, Beth Bennett, Gordon Govier, Mark Pitsch, Bob […]
Continue ReadingWisconsin Freedom of Information Council Oct. 3, 2013 Capital Newspapers auditorium 1) Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 2:05. In attendance were Dee J. Hall, Bill Lueders, Christa Westerberg, Jim Palmer (guest), Bob Dreps, Mark Stodder, Beth Bennett, Chris Hardie, Mary Callen, Doug Wojcik, April Barker (guest), Michelle Vetterkind, Sean Dwyer, […]
Continue ReadingMost candidates for public office, when asked, will pledge their support for open and transparent government. The real question is: Are they committed to fixing problems and expanding what information is available? Recently, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council drew up a “Legislative wish-list for open government” — changes in state law to improve access […]
Continue ReadingIn early May the newspaper I work for, the Wisconsin State Journal, requested the official portraits of the Madison police officers involved in the fatal shooting a few days earlier of a man police say had just stabbed two women to death. Although he’d released the officers’ names, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval initially balked […]
Continue ReadingIn early April, in a case brought by the conservative MacIver Institute against state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals declared that communications from citizens to lawmakers are, as one judge put it, “subject to the open records law, without redaction.” But the court also recognized that legislators have the power to […]
Continue ReadingShould enforcement of Wisconsin’s open records and open meetings laws depend on individual citizens having to file often costly and protracted lawsuits? That is one option prescribed under these laws, and those who prevail in such cases can recover attorney’s fees. But the laws also contain provisions intended to help people resolve disputes in a […]
Continue ReadingMilwaukee Journal Sentinel investigative reporter Dave Umhoefer, winner of a Pulitzer Prize for his 2008 investigation into pension padding in Milwaukee County, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award. The award is a highlight of the fourth annual Wisconsin Watchdog Awards reception and dinner, presented jointly by the Wisconsin Center […]
Continue ReadingAs part of national Sunshine Week (sunshineweek.org), March 16-22, members of the Madison student and professional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists fanned out across the capital city, handing out fortune cookies. We dropped a handful in the offices of the elected officials, from Madison School Board to Gov. Scott Walker, as well as […]
Continue ReadingThis last year has seen almost constant threats to the state’s openness laws. We’ve had local law enforcement agencies suppressing drivers license information, a state senator claiming immunity from civil suits to evade the open records law, and attempts to deny public access to records of circuit court cases and university research. All of these […]
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