Robert Thomas (Illinois): Difference between revisions
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{{Greener|start=02/29/2020 9:00am CST|before='''Robert R. Thomas''' is an associate justice of the [[Illinois Supreme Court]] Second District. Thomas also served as the court's chief justice from 2005 to 2008. [[State Supreme Court justices|Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court]] are elected to serve 10-year terms in [[partisan election of judges|partisan elections]]. Justice Thomas was [[retention election|retained]] in 2010 to a new term expiring on December 6, 2020.<Ref name=electionresults>[http://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/VoteTotals/2010GEOfficialVote.pdf ''Illinois State Board of Elections'', "2010 General Election Results"]</ref> | {{Greener|start=02/29/2020 9:00am CST|before='''Robert R. Thomas''' is an associate justice of the [[Illinois Supreme Court]] Second District. Thomas also served as the court's chief justice from 2005 to 2008. [[State Supreme Court justices|Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court]] are elected to serve 10-year terms in [[partisan election of judges|partisan elections]]. Justice Thomas was [[retention election|retained]] in 2010 to a new term expiring on December 6, 2020.<Ref name=electionresults>[http://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/VoteTotals/2010GEOfficialVote.pdf ''Illinois State Board of Elections'', "2010 General Election Results"]</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 05:06, 9 November 2025
Robert R. Thomas was an associate justice on the Illinois Supreme Court Second District. He served on the court from 2000 to 2020. Thomas also served as the court's chief justice from 2005 to 2008.
On February 10, 2020, Thomas announced his retirement from the court effective February 29, 2020, and cited plans to join Chicago-based law firm Powers Rogers.[1][2] To learn more about this vacancy, click here.
Education
Thomas received his B.A. in Government from the University of Notre Dame in 1974. In 1981, he received his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law.[3]
Career
- 2000 - 2020: Justice, Illinois Supreme Court
- 1994-2000: Judge, Illinois Appellate Court
- 1988-1994: Judge, Illinois Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court
Prior to beginning his legal career, Thomas was a kicker for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League.[4]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 1999 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
- 1996 Inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame[3]
Associations
- Member of the DuPage County Bar Association[3]
Elections
2010
- See also: Illinois judicial elections, 2010
Robert Thomas was retained with 81.01% of the vote a new term on the Second District of the Illinois Supreme Court.[5][6]
Endorsements
The Chicago Sun Times endorse Thomas for retention to another term.[7]
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Thomas received a campaign finance score of -0.37, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.31 that justices received in Illinois.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[8]
Noteworthy events
Defamation of character lawsuit
In 2007, Justice Thomas was awarded $7 million in a successful defamation of character lawsuit against Bill Page, a former columnist at the Kane County Chronicle. The justice's lawyers alleged that Mr. Page had essentially accused him of official misconduct, a felony, when he wrote in his column that he had traded his vote on a disciplinary case in exchange for political support for his favored candidate in a local judicial race. The case was significant because it prompted an Illinois appellate court to establish a judicial privilege in Illinois, allowing judicial deliberations to be kept private, much like doctor-patient discussions. The jury award was subsequently lowered by the trial judge to $4 million. Bill Page and Shaw Suburban Media Group, Inc. countersued in U.S. District Court in June of 2007.[9]
See also
External links
- Illinois Supreme Court
- UPI.com, "Ex-Ill. Gov. Ryan loses pension rights," February 19, 2010
- The New York Times, "A Judge at the Plaintiff's Table Tips the Scales," June 25, 2007
Footnotes
- ↑ Supreme Court of Illinois, "Justice Robert R. Thomas announces retirement from Illinois Supreme Court," February 10, 2020
- ↑ The State Journal-Register, "State Supreme Court Justice Thomas to retire," February 10, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Illinois Courts, "Robert R. Thomas, Supreme Court Justice"
- ↑ John Marshall Law School, "Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas Will Address John Marshall Graduates May 18"
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedelectionresults - ↑ FOX Chicago News, "Supreme Court Election Results"
- ↑ Chicago Sun Times "Vote 'Yes' for Kilbride; 'No' for 3 other judges," October 20, 2010
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "Jury Finds That Columnist Acted with Malice and Awards Judge $7 Million," November 15, 2006
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