In 2015, Wisconsin advocates for open government faced a disquieting truth: If we want to preserve our state’s tradition of transparency and accountability, we must fight for it, against powerful players who will be fighting back. >> More
Category: Freedom of Information
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Open government fight not over
When I heard the news, I was in a car heading to Milwaukee for a family event. Fortunately, I was not driving.
It was July 2, late afternoon, on the cusp of a holiday weekend. The reporter who called began reading changes to the state’s open records law included in an omnibus motion just unveiled by the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee.
I almost couldn’t believe it. >>more
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Fight lawmakers’ shocking attack on open government
On July 2, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee unleashed a shocking assault on the state’s long and proud tradition of open government. It happened at night, on the eve of a holiday weekend, just a few hours after the proposal was first unveiled. No one has taken credit for it. Committee co-chair Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, literally walked away from a reporter asking whose idea it was. >>more
This is an emergency “Your Right to Know” column sent out from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council for July after the initial July column had already been sent out. -
WisFOIC Alert
Action Alert on Changing Disclosure Rules for UW System Job Finalists:
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is deeply opposed to a change to Wisconsin’s open records law that was inserted into the budget late last week by the Joint Finance Committee. It passed on a party-line vote of 12-4, with Republicans in the majority. More>>