Mike Riopell

State Government Writer

Mike Riopell is the Daily Herald's state government writer, working out of the Capitol Complex in Springfield. He started there the day after Election Day 2010 after several years reporting on politics and government for several downstate newspapers. Earlier, he worked in the Daily Herald's Lake County bureau.

Riopell tries to cover the machinations of state government and politics from a suburban perspective, focusing on local politicians and policy that has a big impact in the suburbs. This includes the Friday Suburban Political Recount column he co-writes with political writer Kerry Lester and their blog of the same name.

He particularly enjoys stories that take data the state keeps - from gambling revenues to food stamps usage and child support delinquency - to reveal changes to life in the suburbs.

He has a master's degree in public affairs reporting that he earned partly via an internship in the Daily Herald's Statehouse bureau in 2005.

Riopell lives in Springfield with his wife and daughter, and enjoys haphazard attempts at home repair, being outside and cycling, particularly his bicycle commutes to work at the Capitol Complex.

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Changes coming to Illinois gambling plan

May 14 2013 | 5:51 pm - Lawmakers could try to add additional ethics measures and reconsider putting slot machines at the Chicago airports in an effort to get Gov. Pat Quinn to back a gambling plan, one of its key supporters said Tuesday. State Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie...

Lawmakers allow DuPage board to pare back government

May 14 2013 | 6:50 pm - Gov. Pat Quinn will soon get to decide whether DuPage County officials will be allowed to eliminate as many as 13 local governments in an effort to save money. The Illinois House sent Quinn legislation Tuesday allowing the cuts by a 108-6 vote.

Tough task awaits next state GOP chief

May 13 2013 | 7:24 am - With the exit of Pat Brady of St. Charles as its chairman this week, the Illinois Republican Party is hunting to fill an often thankless job with someone who could face immense pressure to turn the GOP's recent defeats around in a crucial 2014...

Senate approves union-backed pension plan

May 09 2013 | 3:35 pm - The Illinois Senate a union-backed plan to cut the retirement benefits of nearly 700,000 teachers, state workers and retirees today, taking a vote that puts them directly at odds with one approved by Illinois House last week. "This isn't just a...

State Senate could vote on pension plan Thursday

May 08 2013 | 10:48 pm - A union-backed plan to curb the state's escalating retirement costs passed its first test Wednesday, setting up a vote on the Illinois Senate floor as early as Thursday. The Senate committee's approval of the proposal was widely expected. The...

Not all retirees back union-favored pension cuts

May 08 2013 | 8:52 am - Public employee union leaders are mounting a unified push behind pension-cutting legislation in the state Senate, but not all of their members are on board. Fred Klonsky, a former Park Ridge elementary school art teacher who retired last year,...

Illinois Senate to move union-backed pension plan

May 08 2013 | 8:55 am - Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said he plans to push forward with a deal he's struck with the state's biggest teachers and workers unions over their retirement futures. The proposal clashes with more aggressive benefit cuts proposed by...

Sen. Murphy has 'extensive' surgery for softball injury

May 03 2013 | 5:16 pm - State Sen. Matt Murphy had surgery Friday on the knee he seriously injured during the annual House vs. Senate softball game in Springfield. A spokeswoman for the Illinois Senate GOP said the Palatine Republican is wearing a cast after "extensive...

Should tollway have "website of shame" for scofflaws?

May 03 2013 | 4:09 pm - The Illinois House Friday narrowly rejected a plan to set up a "website of shame" to display the names of scofflaws owing more than $1,000 in tollway fines. The proposal would require the Illinois Tollway to contact people who owed fines nine...

Illinois House sends pension package to Senate

May 02 2013 | 6:48 pm - The Illinois House today approved Speaker Michael Madigan's plan to cut public workers' pension benefits, sending it to the Senate where a similar plan has been rejected before. The move makes more clear than ever that suburban teachers' and state...

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