Two former members of Gov. Scott Walker’s cabinet say the administration has had a policy of communicating official business through private channels. The allegations come as the Walker administration faces criticism for cutting public access to internal text messages and other so-called transitory state records.
Journalism Training
You’re invited: Sign up now for Midwest Watchdog Workshop and Wisconsin Watchdog Awards
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Journalists, students and the public are invited for an innovative workshop at the University of Wisconsin-Madison focusing on investigative reporting techniques to hold the powerful accountable. The event will be held April 8 and 9 at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. It is being presented by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Open records
Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council statement on claims of legislative immunity to open records law
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So far as we can recall, no lawmaker has ever before tried to defeat the state’s open records law by employing this ruse. We are deeply disappointed in both Sen. Vukmir and the Attorney General’s Office, for the position it has taken.
Open records
Wisconsin gets a “D” in ranking of legislative websites
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Among advocates for open government, it is often said that public officials should not get kudos for doing the minimum. If the law requires a certain degree of openness and the authorities oblige, they might avoid a kick in the shin but won’t likely get a pat on the back. That may be the operative theory behind the “D” rating awarded the Wisconsin Legislature in a new 50-state ranking of legislative websites produced by the Sunlight Foundation, a national nonprofit group that promotes government transparency.
Open records
Don’t hike cost of public records
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A ruling last year by the Wisconsin Supreme Court involving the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel became the focus of attention Feb. 27, when a state Assembly committee held a public hearing on a bill, AB 26, that would drastically increase the cost of obtaining public records. The bill, if approved, would let custodians of public records charge a fee for redacting sensitive information.
Open records
Legislature oversteps with new rules
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new rules recently passed by the state Assembly and state Senate go beyond preserving decorum and ensuring order. They impede the ability of citizens to participate in their democracy and offer fresh proof, if any were needed, that the Legislature feels no need to follow the rules it has put in place for others.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Keep DNR enforcement sessions open
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The state Department of Natural Resources is rewriting its enforcement procedures, including steps to make the process less transparent.
Money & Politics
Interactive graphic: The Walker Calendar Files — Part Three
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Explore data behind Part Three: Open to Business
Money & Politics
Interactive graphics: The Walker Calendar Files — Part Two
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Explore data behind Part Two: ‘I want the choir to sing’
The Walker Calendar Files
Interactive graphic: The Walker Calendar Files — Part One
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Explore data behind Part One: Walker’s official work time declines as national fame grows
Walker has mixed record on openness
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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.
Money & Politics
Center posts state officials’ statements of economic interest online
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The public is invited to examine the first online archive of top state officials’ 2011 financial disclosure forms, now posted on WisconsinWatch.org, the website for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.