Racine county says no to openness

You may recall awhile back when Racine County Exec (and State Senate candidate) Bill McReynolds told a county supervisor she needed his permission to talk to county staff. McReynolds backed down in the glare of some bad publicity.

But some things haven't changed. The Racine Journal Times reports:

Lange loses resolution battle

IVES GROVE - A proposal to affirm the county's commitment to open government was defeated 17-5 Tuesday night.

The resolution, introduced by Supervisor Diane Lange two weeks ago, called for the County Board to support "unconditional commitment to open communication" between the board and the executive branch. It also asked the county executive to allow employees to speak with elected officials.

Lange said she had hoped the County Board would unite in favor of open government. Instead, she said, the board saw the issue as a conflict between herself and County Executive Bill McReynolds.

"It's unfortunate that that's how some people played this out," she said.

Lange crafted the resolution after she clashed with McReynolds in November. During the budget approval process, McReynolds directed staff to refer Lange - who opposed parts of the county executive's budget - to him if she came to them with any requests for information...

McReynolds and his supporters said the resolution was a political gimmick. Rven if that were true, what would have been the harm of passing it?