Five stars for the building itself. Zero stars for the current state government, but the building itself is gorgeous.
I took my new ladyfriend here a few days ago and gave her a little tour. Despite growing up one county away she had never been. I've been on the formal tour before and I'd definitely recommend it but we were under a bit of a time crunch (yeah, not ideal, but coming here at all was more or less a way to kill time as we waited for someone to arrive) so I ended up playing the role of tour guide.
Wisconsin is really neat in that our State Capitol serves many roles: seat of government, a community gathering space, a city center, and a place for citizens to give voice to their grievances. It's among the most "open" of the states' capitols--and that's very much a positive thing. This building and it's grounds are very much a commons, both in the philosophical sense and a literal one.
I could wax romantic about my time in 2011 spent here in opposition to the radical redirection of state government. Those memories are some of my best and my proudest, no matter how completely Wisconsin has abandoned it's progressive traditions. This building brought people together that year, and I met people who I've remained friends with to this day.
A five star State Capitol, snake infestation or not.