WHEREAS, Robert R. Thomas, has announced that he will retire from the Illinois Supreme Court on February 29, 2020, after thirty-two years of dedicated service inlthe/jtfdiciaFy:; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago City Council has been informed of his announcement of retirement by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, a native of Rochester, New York, Justice Thomas graduated from McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, where he excelled both academically and in athletics, lettering in both football and soccer; and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas attended the University of Notre Dame where he kicked for the football team, including kicking the winning field goal in the 1973 Sugar Bowl victory over University of Alabama, which clinched the AP National Championship that season for Notre Dame; and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government in 1974 from Notre Dame and his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1981;and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas had a twelve-year career as a kicker in the National Football League playing for the Chicago Bears (1975-1982), the Detroit Lions (1982), the San Diego Chargers (1985), and the New York Giants (1986); and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas was elected circuit court judge in DuPage County in 1988 where he presided over civil jury trials and was the Acting Chief Judge from 1989 to 1994; and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas was elected to the Illinois Appellate Court, Second District in 1994 until 2000; and
WHEREAS, On December 4, 2000, Justice Thomas was sworn in as the Illinois Supreme Court Justice for the Second District after defeating incumbent S. Louis Rathje in a contentious primary; and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas was elected to serve as Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice on September 6, 2005, and served as the Chief Justice until September 5, 2008; and
WHEREAS, On January 1, 2011, Justice Thomas authored the Illinois Supreme Court decision Maksym V. Chicago Board of Elections that overturned a lower court ruling that Raham Emanuel was ineligible to run for Mayor of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in April 1996 and received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in January 1999; and
WHEREAS, Justice Thomas is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association; and
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and the members ofthe Chicago City Council assembled this Nineteenth day of February, 2020, do hereby thank Justice Robert R. Thomas for his thirty-two years of distinguished service to the Illinois Supreme Court as well as on the Appellate and Circuit Courts, and wish him the very best as he begins the next phase of his life; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy ofthis resolution be presented to Justice Robert R. Thomas.
