Richard A. Devine (born July 5, 1943) is an American attorney who served as the

Cook County State's Attorney The Cook County State's Attorney is the District attorney, chief prosecutor for Cook County, Illinois. The State's Attorney oversees the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States, with over 600 attorneys and 1,200 employees. The off ...

from 1996 to 2008.

Early life and education

The second of five children, he was the son of a Chicago Water Department employee. Devine grew up in

Rogers Park, Chicago Rogers Park is a neighborhood on the North Side (Chicago), North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located north of Chicago Loop, the Loop along the shore o ...

, and played football and basketball at

Loyola Academy Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school run by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It is a ...

Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...

. He attended

John Carroll University John Carroll University (JCU) is a Private university, private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio, United States. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, it is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts college, liberal arts institution compo ...

for one year on a football scholarship but returned home when his father's health worsened after a stroke. In 1966, Devine graduated from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree before earning a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. The law school is located on the univer ...

in 1968.

Career

Devine worked as an aide to Chicago mayor

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Chicago from 1955, and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953, until his death. He has been called "the last of ...

in 1968 and 1969. Devine worked then as a legal advisor to Daley from 1969 to 1972. He then served as the first assistant state's attorney's office under

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...

from 1980 to 1983. He was President of the

Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...

from 1990 to 1993, and a member of the court-reform commission created in the wake of the

Operation Greylord Operation Greylord was an investigation conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the I ...

. Devine was elected in 1996 as the

, unseating incumbent Republican Jack O'Malley in an

upset victory An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the "favorite") is defeated by (or, in the case of sports, ties with) an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying ...

. He served for 12 years until 2008, when he did not seek re-election. He was succeeded by

Anita Alvarez Anita M. Alvarez (born January 16, 1960) is the former State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alvarez was the first Hispanic woman elected to this position, after being the first Latina to win the Democratic nomination for ...

. Devine appeared in ''

Surviving R. Kelly ''Surviving R. Kelly'' is a Lifetime documentary detailing sexual abuse allegations against American singer Robert "R." Kelly. Its first season aired over three nights, from January 3 to January 5, 2019. Filmmaker and music critic Dream Hampt ...

'', a 2019 Lifetime documentary series about sexual abuse allegations against musician

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames suc ...

. Though the 2008 trial of Kelly occurred at the end of Devine's tenure, he did not participate in the trial.

Personal life

Devine has been married to Charlene Devine for over 50 years and they have four adult children.

References

1943 births Living people Cook County state's attorneys Illinois lawyers Politicians from Chicago Loyola Academy alumni Loyola University Chicago alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Loyola University Chicago School of Law faculty {{US-law-bio-stub