Thomas Allen is a judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 within the Illinois Circuit Court

Illinois Circuit Courts

The Illinois Circuit Courts are state courts of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 23 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. Five circuits comprise solely of a single county - Cook, Will, DuPage,...

 of Cook County

Cook County, Illinois

Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...

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

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 of the 38th Ward

Wards of the United States

In the United States, a ward is an optional division of a city or town, especially an electoral district, for administrative and representative purposes...

 of Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, serving since 1993.

Early life

Allen graduated from Illinois Benedictine College and Kent College of Law. After graduation, he worked as a trial attorney in the criminal justice system for seventeen 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

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

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

Aldermanic career

Allen was appointed Alderman in 1993 by Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 Richard M. Daley

Richard M. Daley

Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...

 to complete the term of Thomas Cullerton. He was elected to a full term in 1995, and re-elected in 1999, 2003, and 2007.

As Alderman, Allen has been concerned about illegally converted rooming houses. To combat this, Allen created a task force to identify, investigate, and close illegal rooming houses.

Allen is chairman of the Transportation and Public Way Committee. He also serves 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

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago , originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago is a special-purpose district, chartered to operate in northern Illinois since 1889...

.

In 2010 Allen cosponsored an ordinance with 30th Ward Alderman Ariel Reboyras

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:...

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

Belmont Avenue (Chicago)

Belmont Avenue is a major east-west street on the North Side of Chicago. Belmont is a central commercial street in Lakeview and, west of the North Branch of the Chicago River, Avondale...

 as "Honorary Lech Kaczynski

Lech Kaczynski

Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...

Way" to honor the deceased Polish President.