As part of national Sunshine Week, March 11-17, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is for the first time giving awards in recognition of people and events that shaped the fortunes of open government in Wisconsin in 2006, for better or worse.
Among them:
â?¢ Open Records Scoop of the Year (the “Scoopee”): Patrick Marley and Stacy Forster, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Last fall, some state lawmakers waxed indignant at reports that 80 percent of UW faculty claimed no sick leave in 2005, adding to a nest egg they can later cash in for health care benefits. These enterprising reporters, using the open records law, found that lawmakers were doing the same thing.