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Chronology of Lueders v Krug

Feb. 3, 2016: I sent an email to Republican legislators stating my opposition to 2 bills related to the proposed privatization of municipal water management. 

In April, 2016: Rep. Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa) received an open records request (ORR) from We the Irrelevant regarding changes in how issues surrounding the state's water should be handled. Here is an excerpt from another legislator's response to the ORR wherein the request is detailed. The ORR requested digital records.

June, 2016: Rep. Krug responded to his ORR with hundreds of printed pages regardless of the ORR's request for digital copies. I reviewed all of those records, and I was alarmed by what I found. My Feb. 3 email was erroneously designated by Krug's staff as "...wants reform."

June 15, 2016: I posted here, detailing the way in which Krug had responded to my open records request. I sent a link to this post to Bill Lueders, president of the WI Freedom of Information Council. 

June 17, 2016: Bill Lueders sent an email to the members of the WI FOIC.  The attachments to which he refers were my original Feb. 3 email and how Krug's staff designated it. See that designation below. 

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July, 2016: Lueders sent the same ORR to Krug, specifically asking for electronic records. He received hundreds of printed pages instead, and would have had to pay .15 per page to remove them from the Assembly Chief Clerk's office.

Aug. 19, 2016: Lueders filed a lawsuit against Krug. You can read the particulars here.

Jan. 19, 2018: Bill Lueders won his lawsuit against Scott Krug. I'm told this victory will not set a precedent unless it is affirmed on appeal. We'll have to wait and see if Krug appeals.

Dec. 18, 2018: The case is currently on appeal.

June 6, 2019: The Court of Appeals, Dist. 2 issued a unanimous decision supporting the Dane County Circuit Court's decision. Their strongly worded opinion confirmed that paper records are no substitute for electronic originals.