In 2022, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council created a designated fund to help cover legal costs associated with fighting to pry records into the public domain. Called simply the WFOIC Legal Fund, it has never had more than $4,000 in its coffers. But the council has put what money that is there to good use.
Why is the state’s tradition of open government important? Just ask the citizens of Sauk County, who have been treated as though it isn’t.
Last March, the Wisconsin Examiner asked the Black River Falls Police Department to search for emails regarding the death of a missing Indigenous man.
The bill moved with lightning speed. It was introduced last December, passed the state Senate in January and the Assembly in February, and was signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers in March.
Imagine I sue a school district for refusing to provide copies of records. Do I have to prove I’m entitled to them, or does the district have to prove it can withhold them?
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving records related to the voting rights of mentally incompetent people. No matter which side wins, the public has in some ways already lost.
A horrific scene played out in February in an apartment complex in Middleton, a Madison suburb.
For the 18th straight year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is recognizing outstanding efforts to protect the state’s tradition of open government through its Openness in Government awards, or Opees.
You’ve already paid for them. They’re yours. But if you want to see the public records that show what your government is doing, some state lawmakers want you to pay again — this time, for redactions.
Law enforcement officers in Winnebago County shot three people in 2023, one fatally. And while we know the names of the people shot, the identities of those who pulled the trigger remain secret.
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