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. 2023 Wisconsin Act 253 allows police and corrections officials to charge some requesters of video and audio recordings for the cost of redaction — that is, blurring out certain information. 

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. That’s because while the case pits the public’s right to scrutinize voter eligibility against the rights of voters to protect their own private health information, elected officials have missed a chance to solve the underlying problem.

By Kelly Lecker A horrific scene played out in February in an apartment complex in Middleton, a Madison suburb. A woman and her two young children had died. The tight-knit community mourned for this family as its members asked: How could this happen?  Kelly Lecker...