Justice Thomas E. Hoffman, a devoted husband, loving father, and one of Chicago’s most respected jurists, passed away peacefully on July 4, 2025. Born and raised in Chicago, Justice Hoffman earned his B.B.A. from Loyola University Chicago and his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. Prior to his judicial career he served with the Chicago Police Department, was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago, and was in private practice. Justice Hoffman was appointed as an associate judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1984 and elected as a circuit judge in 1988. He was assigned to the First District Appellate Court in 1993 and elected to that court in 1994, and additionally served on a statewide panel of five appellate judges that review workers’ compensation matters.

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