Hannah Meisel
"Illinois Issues" state government and politics editorHannah covers state government and politics for NPR Illinois and Illinois Public Radio. Hannah previously reported on the statehouse for The Daily Line and Law360, and also worked a temporary stint at political blog Capitol Fax in 2018.
She has also worked as a reporter for Illinois Public Media in Urbana, and served as NPR Illinois' statehouse intern in 2014 while working toward a master's degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Hannah also holds a journalism degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she was a reporter and managing editor at The Daily Illini. After college, she interned at NPR in Washington, D.C.
In 2020, the Washington Post named Hannah one of the best political reporters in Illinois and in 2021, she won the Illinois News Broadcasters Association's Crystal Mic award for best small market radio reporter in the state. Hannah is a former host of WSEC-TV's weekly political roundtable program CapitolView and makes regular appearances on TV and radio stations across the state in addition to her role as a panelist and producer for NPR Illinois'State Week in Review.
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Another week brought more scrutiny to social media messages from Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey and his wife, Cindy. Some of what has come to light attacks Islam, LGBTQ rights and more. This follows the candidate doubling down on previous remarks that compared abortion to the Holocaust. Meanwhile, a judge issued a contempt order for another agency in the Pritzker administration. This one is critical of healthcare offered to those incarcerated in state prisons. -
The University of Illinois Springfield has elected to discontinue its contract with the state’s Department of Children and Family Services to offer simulation training for agency investigators. UIS had turned a campus house into a simulation lab.
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A Facebook video from 2017 has resurfaced in this year's race for Illinois governor. Republican nominee Darren Bailey was discussing abortion in the video and compared it to lives lost due to Nazi atrocities. We discuss the political fallout.
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An internal power squabble that briefly turned public — and ugly — had already resolved before Saturday’s meeting to elect a new chair to lead the Illinois Democratic Party for the next four years. But the fight hung over the meeting at Springfield’s largest union hall as U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly accepted her ouster as head of the state party — an organization that had, for years, largely been another fundraising tool for longtime Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
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Our panel discusses a fight for chairmanship of the Democratic Party of Illinois, Google's plans for the Thompson Center and efforts to bring a major political convention to the state.
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It should be no surprise that the billionaire Democrat Pritzker has more money available than Republican Darren Bailey. But the size of his advantage raised some eyebrows this week.
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There is speculation Illinois' governor is mulling a White House bid in 2024. Our panel weighs in.
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Illinois’ Department of Healthcare and Family Services is accepting Medicaid applications for low-income noncitizens as young as 42, who recently became eligible for the state’s expanded “Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults” program.
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The ability of the shooter to obtain weapons raises concerns over how existing laws work. Meanwhile, the calls for stricter gun control continue.
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What does the primary tell us about the state of politics in Illinois?
