Thomas R. Allen (born 1952) is a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

within the

Illinois Circuit Court The Illinois circuit courts are state courts of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 24 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. The jurisdiction of s ...

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 ...

. He was sworn in on December 6, 2010. Prior to his judgeship, he was

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the 38th

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

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

, serving since 1993.

Early life

Allen graduated from Illinois Benedictine College and Kent College of Law. After graduation, he worked as a criminal defense attorney for 17 years.

Public service

Allen served as an administrative and legislative assistant to Alderman Thomas Cullerton before succeeding him. Currently, Allen is active in several community organizations: the Portage Park Advisory Board, the Irving Park

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, the Sunshine Activity Center for Mentally Handicapped, and the Polish American Police Association.

Aldermanic career

Allen was appointed Alderman in 1993 by

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...

to complete the term of Thomas Cullerton, who died in office after a long illness. Allen was elected to a full term in 1995, and re-elected in 1999, 2003, and 2007. As Alderman, Allen was concerned about illegally converted rooming houses. To combat this, Allen created a task force to identify, investigate, and close illegal rooming houses. Allen was chairman of the Transportation and Public Way Committee. He also served on seven other committees: Aviation; Budget and Government Operations; Buildings; Committees, Rules and Ethics; Economic, Capital and Technology Development; Finance; and Zoning. In 2008 Allen was found to be one of seven Chicago aldermen who between them got ten of their children good-paying summer jobs with the

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago, is a special-purpose district chartered to operate in Cook County, Illinois since 1889. Although its name may imply other ...

. In 2008, Allen unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in the election for Cook County State's Attorney. In 2010 Allen cosponsored an ordinance with 30th Ward Alderman

Ariel Reboyras Ariel Reboyras is alderman of the 30th ward of the City of Chicago; he was first elected in 2003. He was previously a deputy commissioner in the general service department. Early life Ariel Reboyras was born in New York City in 1953. Of Puerto ...

that designated a stretch of Central Avenue in the vicinity of its intersection with

Belmont Avenue Belmont Avenue (3200 N) is a major east–west street in Chicago and some suburbs. Belmont starts at the Belmont harbor area and is a central commercial street in Lakeview and, west of the North Branch of the Chicago River, Avondale. Further w ...

as "Honorary

Lech Kaczynski Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań ...

Way" to honor the deceased Polish President. After Cullerton resigned from the City Council to assume his judgeship, Mayor Daley appointed his brother-in-law

Timothy Cullerton Timothy M. Cullerton is a former Chicago City Council member who represented the 38th Ward on Chicago's Northwest Side. He was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2011. Background Cullerton's grandfather, William Cullerton, father, Thomas W. ...

to succeed him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Thomas R. Living people Chicago City Council members appointed by Richard M. Daley Benedictine University alumni Illinois Institute of Technology alumni 1965 births Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County