It's been a good year for transparency in state government according to Bill Lueders, President of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council . WRN spoke to him as part of Sunshine Week which advocates government being open with information to citizens.
In the coming year, Lueders would like a set policy on electronic records including archiving and retrieving correspondence.
"So if a citizen wants to know what public officials have been saying and hearing about a particular issue they can make a request and get them easily," says Lueders.
The veteran journalist says with cutbacks in news rooms across the nation, it's more challenging for reporters to do investigative work into government activity. But he adds anyone can fill out an open records request or open meetings request because it's the public's right to know.