An assistant state’s attorney who is legally blind announced Jan. 11 his judicial candidacy for Cook County Circuit Court, citing his visual impairment as one of his biggest strengths.
Thomas “TJ” Loftus, of Oak Park, who serves in the Juvenile Justice Division, announced his intentions to a small gathering of family and friends at the Blind Service Association, 22 W. Monroe St., in Chicago.
“My visual impairment has taught me to work harder,” Loftus said. “It’s taught me to strive for higher goals.”
If he wins, Loftus, 32, would be the second legally blind judge in Cook County judicial history, joining Judge Nicholas T. Pomaro, who retired in
July as a Cook County associate judge. Pomaro was appointed, so Loftus would be the first elected to the position.
Loftus will run against six other Democratic candidates in the March 21 primary for the position vacated by Judge Charles Travis: Marguerite Quinn of Winnetka, Martha Mills of Chicago, Patrick O’Brien of Chicago, Susan Matyus of Chicago, John Stalmack of Burnham and Phyllis Ringer-Taylor of Glenview.
There are no Republican candidates running for the position.
Since birth Loftus has suffered from retinoschesis, a condition that splits the retina into two layers. The condition has rendered him legally blind, forcing him to overcome obstacles in his education.
He uses a voice synthesizer on his computer to read case files or wears thick, magnifying glasses to read legal briefs. Barbara Burke, who read his philosophy textbook to him while they were undergraduates at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said his vision impairment has made him sharper.
“His memory is almost photographic,” Burke said.
Debbie Grossman, executive director of Chicago Lighthouse, an organization that provides services to the blind, said Loftus’ vision impairment may make him more perceptive if he becomes a judge.
“Perhaps he can hear a hesitation in [a defendant’s] voice that we can’t hear,” Grossman said.
Loftus has served on the Criminal Appeals Division and Public Interest Bureau of Cook County and is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Prosecutor’s Bar Association and Emerald Society.
Illinois has a hybrid system, appointing some judges and electing others. In
Cook County, there are 509 circuit court judges, who are elected to six-year terms.
Loftus, the son of a Chicago police officer and public school teacher, grew
up in the Northwest side neighborhood of Edgebrook. He is a graduate of Loyola Academy and the University of Illinois, where he received degrees in law and accounting.
After graduating law school in 1999, Loftus worked as a tax consultant for two years at the firm KPMG before becoming an assistant state’s attorney in 2001.
“I’ve worked in the courtroom almost daily over the last five years,” Loftus said. “I’ve seen the best side of judges and the worst side of judges. I aim to be one of those judges who consistently shows his best side.”