Your Right to Know

The messaging app Signal is popular for one reason: it’s good at keeping secrets.

The nonprofit that developed the app does not store messages or user data on a central server

Whoever wins the Nov. 3 election to become Wisconsin’s next governor — whether it be Republican Tom Tiffany or Democrat David Crowley — will inherit a state whose long tradition of open government is replete with opportunities for improvement.

Requesting public records in Wisconsin can sometimes mean waiting weeks, months and even longer for government officials and agencies to respond. What could help speed things along?

A few weeks ago, Wisconsin State Journal reporter Chris Rickert was using his cell phone to scan records in the office of the Dane County Clerk of Circuit Court, when an office staffer informed him that this was not allowed.

The state should be lauded for trying to make campaign finance information — famously a shadowy process with plenty of loopholes — more accessible to the public.

When a government tells you a record is being withheld, that is not the last word. It is one person’s reading, and sometimes it is wrong.

It’s hardly a controversial statement to say that police, who can arrest people and use force when necessary, should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us.

How can we fix these twin problems? If I were in charge (and I’m not), I’d put a strict deadline in the law and eliminate location fees altogether. But realistically, we are unlikely to see either reform. 

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council has long posted a records request template on its website, wisfoic.org. It cites Wisconsin law and uses language to target your request and help you avoid surprise fees.

In advance of national Sunshine Week (sunshineweek.org), March 15-21, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council has named the winners of its 20th annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees.