(Published Monday, February 5, 2007 11:54:34 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Chris Schultz Gazette staff
LAKE GENEVA-Michael Rielly is back.
And he wants people to know this is not the Michael Rielly who was arrested several times for disorderly conduct and eventually removed from office as Lake Geneva city attorney.
"It's kind of difficult to talk about, but I know it's necessary," said Rielly, sitting behind a simple desk in his new, sparsely decorated office.
"It's a condition I have called bipolar disorder."
Rielly is trying to build a law practice focusing on real estate, business and wills. He rents office space at the Cheryl A. Mick law offices, N3510 County Road H, between Lake Geneva and Elkhorn.
Rielly called The Janesville Gazette, saying he wanted to talk about what caused his bad behavior in May and June. The behavior eventually led to several stints in jail.
Michael Rielly
Rielly blames his bipolar disorder, which causes a chemical imbalance in the brain, leading to rapid changes in mood and behavior.
Rielly said friends and family rallied around him and helped him realize he had a problem that needed medical attention. He said he now is back on medication.
"Although it can't be cured, it can be controlled through medication," Rielly said. "There's a lot of stigma attached to it."
He wants to set an example and raise awareness of the disease.
"Being a public figure and being a lawyer, it's important to regain and rebuild trust, and it's not going to be an easy process," Rielly said.
Rielly is a native of Oskaloosa, Iowa, and for 17 years was an attorney in good standing in the Lake Geneva area. From 1996 to 2006 he was Lake Geneva city attorney, one of the few elected city attorneys in the state.
But sometime during the spring of 2006, city officials noted a drop in Rielly's performance. He neglected work and sometimes forgot what he was supposed to do from hour to hour.
On May 25, he was arrested and jailed for disorderly conduct at a Lake Geneva bar. It was the first of several incidents in which the once quiet lawyer, who once was described by Lake Geneva Police Chief Richard Meinel as "a gentleman," transformed into someone none of his friends recognized or liked.
At that point, Rielly said, he was in the grips of the disease.
"What people witnessed was a person suffering with the mania associated with this condition of being bipolar," Rielly said.
Rielly said his law license was suspended from Sept. 17 to Nov. 28 for medical reasons. A state bar Web site confirms that he is again in good standing.
In November, Rielly was put on the county's First Offender Program.
If Rielly stays out of trouble during the 18-month program, he won't be prosecuted on six misdemeanor charges-four for disorderly conduct and two for bail jumping.
Among other requirements was a drug and alcohol assessment, counseling on bipolar disorder and taking all medications required by a physician.
Asked whether his announced run as a Democratic candidate for the First Congressional District seat, now held by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) was a symptom of his condition, Rielly said he knows it takes a lot of things to come together to make a successful run at public office, and timing is everything.
"Rielly for Congress in 2006 was not the right time," Rielly said, adding that grandiose thinking is a symptom of bipolar disorder.
"There was some grandiose thinking on my part," he said.
Court documents show that Rielly moved back to Iowa in August.
Why return to Walworth County?
Rielly said he checked out Florida and the Carolinas, but he returned to Walworth County because it was one of the most desirable places to live.
Rielly said he's encouraged by the reception he's gotten from old friends in Lake Geneva.
"There have been many people in the community who have approached me and said their hearts and prayers are with me.
"That's something I don't think you'd get in a bigger city."
