The Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are planning to file a complaint in Dane County Circuit Court today suing the state Elections and Ethics boards. The newspapers want to force the release of records from the reviews of alleged illegal campaign activity by the legislative caucuses.

The newspapers’ allegations include the failure of the boards to comply with the state Open Records Law. They requested documents last month and were denied.

“We filed freedom of information requests for the state Elections and Ethics boards regarding their investigations, or supposed investigation, of the legislature and the caucus employees who were campaigning illegally,” Wisconsin State Journal Editor in Chief Frank Denton said. “The ethics and elections were supposed to be investigating, and it turned out they were negotiating a secret deal to end the caucuses and transfer the employees and to forbid further investigation.”

Denton said since the freedom of information requests were rejected, a lawsuit was the next step.

The two boards negotiated an agreement to eliminate the staffs of the legislative caucuses, impose fines and reform legislative work rules. These punishments were in exchange for agreements not to pursue any punishment against specific legislators or caucus staffers, such as state Sen. Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, against whom allegations were launched two weeks ago.

Ethics Board Executive Director Roth Judd and Elections Board Executive Director Kevin Kennedy announced the deal Oct. 11.

Judd told the State Journal and Journal Sentinel the board wants to provide all information it is permitted to provide.

“The board just doesn’t want to be in the position of releasing information state law forbids it to release,” Judd said.

After the agreement between the boards and the legislature, the newspapers requested all documents related to the investigation. The newspapers’ request was rejected Oct. 17 by the Ethics board, which said state laws exist protecting the disclosure of records “obtained or prepared by the board in connection with an investigation.”

The Elections Board followed suit Oct. 19 and rejected the request, explaining that the documents were protected by exemptions from disclosure for personal notes, drafts or records that are part of an ongoing investigation.

However, the newspapers argue that rather than launching an investigation of the legislators, the boards and the legislature struck an agreement, thus voiding any document protection. The newspapers also argued the Oct. 11 agreement halted the investigation and therefore the Elections board records are not part of an ongoing investigation.

Although newspapers do not frequently sue the government, Denton said it was necessary.

“We do it when we have to; we don’t really like to sue our own government, but when they violate the law we feel we have to,” Denton said.

The suit seeks reimbursement of attorney’s fees and acquisition of the documents.