Bill Mitchell (born March 29, 1960) is an American politician who served as a three-time member of the Illinois House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Mitchell was born in Decatur, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Eastern Illinois University in 1982.

Career

Mitchell began his career as a Decatur City Councilman, Macon County Republican Chairman, and Mayor Pro Tem. During his time in local government, he supported curfew laws and made efforts to cut

government waste Government failure, in the context of public economics, is an economic inefficiency caused by a government intervention, if the inefficiency would not exist in a true free market. The costs of the government intervention are greater than the ben ...

, reduce taxes and institute juvenile justice reform. In 2011, Mitchell joined with State Representative Adam Brown of the 101st district in proposing statehood for

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. Mitchell said that

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

is "dictating its views" to the rest of the state and Brown added that Chicago "overshadows" the rest of Illinois. An August 30, 2003, article in the

Bloomington–Normal Bloomington–Normal, officially known as the Bloomington, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in Central Illinois anchored by the twin municipalities of Bloomington and Normal. At the 2010 census, the municipaliti ...

newspaper ''

The Pantagraph ''The Pantagraph'' is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is ...

'' stated that Mitchell was arrested for DUI near

Heyworth, Illinois Heyworth is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1859. As of 2010, Heyworth had a population of 2,842. It is part of the Bloomington– Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Heyworth was laid out b ...

, and was also charged with improper traffic lane usage. The McLean County Sheriff's report indicated that his breath-alcohol level was 0.186 percent, which is more than twice Illinois legal BAC limit of 0.08. Mitchell pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 24 months of court supervision. Mitchell retired after the 100th General Assembly and was succeeded by fellow Republican and Eastern Illinois University Trustee Dan Caulkins.

References

External links

Representative Bill Mitchell (R) 87th District
at the Illinois General Assembly **By session:
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Bill Mitchell
at Illinois House Republican Caucus {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Bill Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives 1960 births Living people Mayors of Decatur, Illinois Eastern Illinois University alumni 21st-century American politicians