Ald. Allen to leave City Council for judgeship

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Updated: November 8, 2010 6:30AM

Ald. Tom Allen (38th) was one of Mayor Daley's most outspoken City Council critics - so much so that he considered challenging the mayor before Daley decided to retire from politics.

Now, neither one of them will be around much longer at City Hall.

A former assistant public defender who came within an eyelash of being elected state's attorney in 2008, Allen has been appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to the job of circuit court judge, effective Dec. 6.

That post will give Allen a nearly 62 percent pay raise - from $110,556-a-year as an alderman to $178,835 as a judge.

The timing of Allen's appointment will ultimately ensure a higher judicial pension. On Jan. 1, pension reforms are scheduled to take effect for new state employees, raising to 67 the age for retirement with full benefits and basing benefits on an eight-year average of pay rather than four.

Allen, 58, replaces Judge Aurelia Pucinski, who was elected Tuesday to the Illinois Appellate Court.

Allen credited his mentor, retired state Supreme Court Justice Tom Fitzgerald, with securing the appointment for him.

"I'm a lawyer. I love trial work. I immerse myself in it," Allen said of his new job.

One of organized labor's staunchest City Council defenders, Allen is the seventh sitting aldermen who will not stand for re-election in a difficult year for incumbents.

Four female aldermen have announced plans to retire: Ginger Rugai (19th); Vi Daley (43rd); Helen Shiller (46th); and Mary Ann Smith (48th).

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) is president-elect of the Cook County Board. Ald. Brian Doherty (41st), the City Council's lone Republican, lost a hard-fought race for the Illinois Senate.

Allen serves as chairman of the City Council's Transportation Committee. He's has been itching to get out of the City Council for years after chafing under Daley's iron-fisted rule.

Last year, Allen cast his first vote against a Daley budget in 16 years in the City Council. And he delivered a speech that sounded like he was laying the groundwork to run for mayor denouncing Daley's decision to raid reserves generated by the 75-year, $1.15 billion lease that privatized Chicago parking meters.

"We haven't made 12 months, and I guess we've reached eternity," Allen said on that day, noting that parking meter reserves were billed as a "perpetual replacement fund" when the deal was rammed through.

"We have breached our fiduciary duty to taxpayers. You can't break a contract in 12 months that's supposed to last for 75 years. It's unconscionable. It's irresponsible. It's disingenuous. . . . The decision to raid this fundamental asset is mind-boggling."

Now, Daley will have the last word. He'll get a chance to appoint Allen's successor-even if it's only for a few months.