Politics & Government

Sunshine Week: Shining Light Onto Public Governance

In observance of Sunshine Week, Patch is providing some information on your rights to observe your government in action, and some resources for you to explore open records yourself.

Want to know how much the superintendent makes? That's an open record.

Want to watch Caledonia officials deliberate and decide what to do about a proposed development? That's an open meeting. 

Wisconsin has a long history of open government, and strong laws that support it. Caledonia Patch is observing Sunshine Week 2012, which begins today. As part of that observation, we want to share with you some of the open government resources available to anyone. 

Find out what's happening in Caledoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

You have the right to see the records the government keeps — from health inspection reports to employee salaries to the entire municipal or school district budget — and to be present at the meetings where governmental business gets done. The expectation is that government is open — if they want to close the meeting or keep a document confidential, they need to say why. And in most cases, they aren't allowed to ask who you are or why you want to see the record you're requesting.

If you know of an open government issue you'd like Caledonia Patch to look into, email Local Editor Denise Lockwood at denise.lockwood@patch.com.

Find out what's happening in Caledoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

See for yourself

The Internet has made it easier to access a lot of public information. As governments go digital, the amount of information available online has grown. Here are links to some online databases you can search.  

Local resources

The agendas of future and past meetings in Caledonia can be found by clicking here for the village's website and then clicking on "Agendas & Minutes" in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Anyone interested in the agends and/or minutes from Racine County Board meetings can also go online by clicking here. Residents can also find every county office listed with information specific to those departments at the county's website, www.racineco.com.

To request access to records in your community, go to the District Offices for Racine Unified, 3109 Mt. Pleasant Street; to Caledonia Village Hall, 6922 Nicholsen Road;  or to the Racine County Courthouse, 730 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Racine.

State resources

If you want to dig into the legal aspects of it, here are links to the statutes and guidelines from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. 


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