Mark Rivera
Upon his arrival to the station, former News Vice President Jennifer Graves described Mark as a "skilled anchor and a versatile reporter adept at covering everything from big breaking news stories, to politics and feature stories." Rivera grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
Rivera also reports with the ABC7 Chicago I-Team.
The first major live story Rivera covered for ABC 7 Eyewitness News was the funeral and procession of slain police Cmdr. Paul Bauer in 2018. He anchored ABC 7's on-air coverage for more than three hours as Bauer was honored by the city and its residents.
Rivera comes to ABC 7 from WTSP-TV in Tampa, Florida, where he served as the station's weekend morning news anchor and political reporter. While on the anchor desk there, he provided six hours of compelling non-stop coverage of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in nearby Orlando. As the station's political reporter, he covered Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton campaign rallies, questioned Vice President Mike Pence about Russian influence and co-moderated a heated congressional debate. In addition to the political beat, Rivera has reported on a wide range of stories from the hurricanes that devastated Florida to a family whose son is a five-organ transplant survivor.
Prior to WTSP, Rivera worked at WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois where he anchored a two-hour daily newscast, reported breaking news and wrote, edited and reported a weekly feature piece focused on the local community. While at WAND, Rivera won a regional Associated Press Award.
Rivera is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
He, his wife Alissa, and their dog Xena live in the Chicago area. They enjoy running and exploring all of the diners, coffee shops and taco spots Chicago has to offer.
Mark's Stories
The Top Cop: Public defenders say ISP trooper copied, pasted findings in arrest reports over years
Public defenders tell the ABC7 I-Team they believe an Illinois State Police trooper lauded for making hundreds of DUI arrests in recent years copied and pasted portions of some of his reports from one driver to the next.
DEA warning of heightened threat as synthetic drugs creep at alarming rates into Chicago
A new warning is going out to parents and children from Chicago's top drug enforcer about an alarming increase of potentially lethal drug combinations making their way to Chicago's illicit drug market.
Fallout from the ransomware attack on Canvas used by thousands of universities
A former White House official says artificial intelligence was used in this attack, and that personal information may be at risk.
How Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center research helps prevent targeted violence
Stopping violent attacks before they happen is the mission of The National Threat Assessment Center.
Secret Service runs specialized training in Illinois' Lake County to help prevent targeted violence
The NTAC conducts behavioral research and preventative guidance to stop targeted violence in schools, using the same tools the Secret Service employs to protect presidents and dignitaries.
Resilience Healthcare CEO accused of moving millions from hospital fund to private account
There were explosive accusations in court as the landlord for Resilience Healthcare accused CEO Manoj Prasad of moving tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from a hospital operating fund to a private account controlled solely by Prasad.
The Top Cop: Driver accused of DUI tracks missing laptop to Illinois State trooper's house
A restaurant executive arrested by an Illinois State Police trooper on DUI charges told the ABC 7 I-Team when he discovered his MacBook was missing from his car, he tracked it to the house of the trooper who arrested him.
2nd man charged with attacking 2 Jewish students at DePaul campus in 2024
A second man has been charged in a violent attack on two Jewish students at DePaul University in November 2024.