Public officials sometimes resist sharing the information that forms the path for their actions with citizens and taxpayers. But it’s not “their” business, it’s the public’s business. The public has every right to know the details of government operations.
Tag: open records
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Lawmakers exploit loophole to hide ALEC ties
Wisconsin state legislators are routinely deleting emails concerning their involvement with the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), exploiting a loophole that exempts the Legislature from records retention rules that apply to all other state and local government officials.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: On open records, Walker and Barrett are imperfect
Advocates of open government often quiz candidates for public office on their level of support for official transparency. The candidates, when asked, always tout their commitment. That doesn’t mean they always deliver.
Posted inGovernment, Money & Politics, The Walker Calendar Files
‘I want the choir to sing’
Walker’s official calendars from his first 13 months in office chronicle these and scores more hours he spent building credentials with conservatives in Wisconsin and across the nation. The second installment in a three-part series.
Posted inGovernment, Money & Politics, The Walker Calendar Files
Walker’s official work time declines as national fame grows
Last year, Gov. Scott Walker crisscrossed the nation, breaking fundraising records and netting about half his donations from out of state. But his calendars show the consequences of fame and fundraising. The first in a three-part series.
Posted inGovernment, The Walker Calendar Files
The Walker Calendar Files: How we did the analysis
Through the state’s open records law, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism received Gov. Scott Walker’s official calendars. Center reporters then created a database of all 4,414 entries.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
National access advocates coming to Madison
Wisconsin’s status as an open government hot spot is reflected in the National Freedom of Information Coalition’s decision to host its annual conference here this month. The 2012 FOI Summit, also held in collaboration with the Society of Professional Journalists, will be held at the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club in downtown Madison on May 11 and 12.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Dick Wheeler, knower-in-chief
Dick Wheeler, whose career was dedicated, first and foremost, to the Public’s Right to Know, died of a heart attack Nov. 11, as he was preparing for work. On April 25 he will be honored posthumously in Madison with the Distinguished WisconsinWatch.orgdog Award, presented by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and the Madison professional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Lawmakers on both ends of openness awards
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is bestowing its annual “Opee” Awards for openness in government. And Wisconsin state lawmakers have been tapped for both kinds of awards — good as well as bad.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Let the sunshine in … please
It’s time once again for proponents of open government and the free flow of information to celebrate Sunshine Week. But this year, we’ll be doing it under a cloud.
Posted inOpen records, WisWatch Blog
Walker has mixed record on openness
On issues of government openness, Gov. Scott Walker’s record has been mixed. He is not running the most open administration in history, as he pledged in an interview late last year, but he’s certainly not in a bunker.
Posted inGovernment, Money & Politics
Walker hires lawyer to defend DA who sued state
Gov. Scott Walker has hired private legal counsel to represent a county district attorney being sued for allegedly violating a state open government law — a move made necessary because the DA has sued the state for allegedly violating another open government statute.