Thomas R. Fitzgerald

Thomas Robert Fitzgerald (July 10, 1941 – November 1, 2015) was a chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He became the first Illinois chief justice to preside over the impeachment trial of a sitting governor when he presided over the impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Early life and career Born in Chicago on July 10, 1941, Fitzgerald graduated from Leo Catholic High School in 1959. He attended Loyola University Chicago before enlisting in the United States Navy. Following his tour of duty in the Navy, he graduated with honors from The John Marshall Law School, where he was a founder of the school's current law review and served as its associate editor. The son of a circuit court judge, Fitzgerald began his own career in the law as a prosecutor in the Cook County, Illinois State's Attorney's Office. When first elected to the bench in 1976, he was the youngest Cook County judge. He served as a trial judge in the Criminal Court from 1976 to 1987, when he was assigned Supervising Judge of Traffic Court. In 1989, he returned to the Criminal Division as Presiding judge. He was also appointed to serve as presiding judge of Illinois's first statewide Grand Jury. He was elected to the Supreme Court of Illinois for the First District in 2000. As a law professor, Fitzgerald taught at The John Marshall Law School and Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was assistant coordinator of the trial advocacy program from 1986 to 1996. He also has taught at the Einstein Institute for Science, Health and the Courts.