Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

When 14 Democratic state senators from Wisconsin fled to Illinois in February to avoid voting on Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial anti-collective bargaining bill, a constituent complained to Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen about the secret meetings the senators were having far from the Capitol, with no public notice. Van Hollen’s office told the disgruntled taxpayer […]

The key question in the ongoing legal tussle over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill comes down to this: “Must the Legislature comply with the state’s Open Meetings Law?” At first glance, the answer might seem obvious, since the Legislature itself pledged to comply when it passed the law in 1975. Here’s the exact language: […]

In 1836, with a vision for the city that would become Wisconsin’s capital, James Doty proposed that it be named after the man known as the “father of the Constitution,” who had died that year. James Madison, the fourth U.S. president, is one of the most lasting and relevant of our Founding Fathers. A signer […]

Sunshine Week, a national celebration of the ideal (if not always the practice) of openness in government, was launched in 2005 and is already a tradition. This year it’s set for March 13-19. In connection with this event, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is giving its fifth annual “Opee” Awards to those who’ve made […]

Wisconsin’s open records and open meetings laws are decades old, passed long before the Internet was even a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye. While the state’s open records law explicitly includes electronic records, it falls short of providing clear guidance in every situation. And that creates problems in an age where the Internet and e-mail are […]

My first question was a softball: “Will you pledge right now to run the most open, transparent gubernatorial administration in the history of the universe?” Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s one-word reply: “Absolutely.” In fact, it’s hard to imagine that Walker will not oversee a more forthcoming executive branch than his predecessor once he’s sworn into office […]

The case of Ken Kratz, the “sexting” former Calumet County district attorney, suggests the state of Wisconsin needs to revamp its rules regarding the regulation of lawyers, especially those on the public payroll. Stephanie Van Groll, a victim of domestic violence, blew the whistle on Kratz, deserves credit for standing up to his disgusting behavior. […]

A state website operating since 2007 is supposed to be informing citizens how state government spends some of their taxpayer dollars by disclosing information on state contracts worth $10,000 or more. But that is not happening. And for a state that strives to be a leader in government transparency, this is not a pretty story. […]

Complaints about secrecy in government tend to come after important information has been withheld. Wouldn’t it make more sense to clear the path to open government early on – before an official is elected?            With fall elections approaching, it is a good time to ask candidates what they would reveal – or not reveal – […]

It was like those legal dramas on TV. The judge, ruling from the bench, always starts out paying homage to some legal principle or perspective. Then there’s a “but” and the judge shifts gears, coming down firmly on the other side. So it was with the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recent ruling in a case known […]

  SEC, as it turns out, is not an acronym for Securities and Exchange Commission, it’s an abbreviation for SECRECY. That’s the only conclusion we can draw after reading that the agency believes it no longer has to comply with the Freedom of Information Act under the new Wall Street reform signed into law last […]

Albert Einstein famously said, at the advent of the nuclear age: “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything, save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” Substitute a few words and it reflects how some people feel about the information age: “The unleashed power of the Internet has changed […]

Last month, as the current legislative session ground to a close, Wisconsin became the 39th state to pass a shield law for news reporters. The law, the Whistleblower Protection Act, provides assurance to confidential sources that their identities will be protected should an attempt be made in court to force a reporter to reveal this […]