Last month on this page, state Attorney General Brad Schimel called for updating the state's open government laws to meet the challenges of the digital age. He's exactly right. The laws were enacted long before the Internet came into being, let alone Facebook and Twitter, and they need to be updated — and strengthened to make sure that citizens in the digital age have the access to government that they need.
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Read More… from Wisconsin moving open government into the digital age
Wisconsin's new attorney general, Brad Schimel, contended in a recent column that the state's open government laws "are outdated and do not adequately address today's technological environment." He promised to initiate a process to provide "clearer guidance…without reducing rights to access."
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Wisconsin’s new attorney general, Brad Schimel, recently contended the state’s open government laws “are outdated and do not adequately address today’s technological environment.” He promised to initiate a process to provide “clearer guidance … without reducing rights to access.”
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Read More… from Editorial: Wisconsin’s open government laws should be updated
For democracy to work, citizens need to know what their government is up to. Hillary Clinton hid her emails as secretary of state from her citizen bosses. She wanted us to know only what she wanted us to know. Scott Walker hid his emails as Milwaukee County executive, too.
Could both of these presidential candidates have achieved their goals without breaking the rules? It appears so. They broke the rules anyway.
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Read More… from Public access ensures transparent, accountable government
With Sunshine Week less than two weeks away, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and Wisconsin Reporter are pursuing legal action that aims to open up government records to the public.
On Tuesday, WILL, a Milwaukee-based public interest law firm, on behalf of Wisconsin Reporter, filed a lawsuit against Jefferson County and its policy calling for the wholesale redaction of identifying information from routine police reports and citations.
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Read More… from WILL, Wisconsin Reporter sue to open government records
More than a dozen residents and two school board members spoke to a large crowd during the citizen comment portion of Tuesday's meeting of the Janesville School Board.
Most were there to question why their names appeared on a recent Freedom of Information Act request made by board member Bill Sodemann. The rest voiced disapproval with the use of partisan politics in the upcoming school board election.
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Read More… from Names from FOIA request voice disapproval at Janesville School Board meeting
Open government advocates are blasting a move by the Walker administration to withhold the names of some 40 parties who toured the Hill Farms site last month in advance of a sale and redevelopment of the 21-acre property.
“Is the state contending that the parties seeking a slice of this multi-million dollar pie will lose their appetite if their identities are revealed prior to the completion of negotiations?” says Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.
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Read More… from Open records expert: State wrong on Hill Farms case
Mary Burke was succinct. She used a single word ó"Yes" ó 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… Burke, a Madison School Board member making her first run for statewide office, also said in her written responses that the Legislature should be subject to the state's open meetings law, though she continues to believe party caucuses should be able to meet in secret. Why?
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Read More… from Wisconsin gubernatorial candidates talk about open government
