About Tom
Tom Bilyk is a career public servant. After graduating from the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, he has worked his entire 26 year legal career for the people of Cook County as an Assistant State’s Attorney. Tom is currently the Chief of the Juvenile Justice Division for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office where he oversees the work of over 40 attorneys, dealing with the issues of troubled and violent youth in all of Cook County. Prior to attaining this position, Tom served as Supervisor of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Public Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit and Supervisor of the Professional Standards Unit.
Tom began his career in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1983. He has argued before the Illinois Appellate Court and tried hundreds of felony cases, including more than 70 felony jury trials. Tom has handled all types of felony cases ranging from homicides, narcotics, armed robbery, and criminal sexual assaults. He was the lead attorney in one of the Cook County Felony Trial courtrooms at 26th and California for over 9 years.
In 1999, Tom was promoted to Deputy Supervisor of the Professional Standards Unit where he was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of Cook County law enforcement personnel whose use of force rose to the level of criminal conduct.
In 2003, Tom was promoted to the Supervisor of the Public Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit where he was responsible for prosecuting city, county, and state employees who committed felonies and violated the public trust. Tom personally tried police officers and public employees on corruption charges. He personally oversaw the investigation and prosecution of a group of 13 individuals who stole over 20 million dollars through fraudulent real estate and mortgage transactions. He then headed up the Mortgage Fraud Task Force made up of representatives from the Illinois Attorney General, the Illinois Secretary Of State, the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, the Cook County Assessor, the Chicago Police Department, and the City Of Chicago Corporation Council created to work together to propose and pass legislation to combat mortgage fraud and predatory lending practices. The task force also created, and, oversaw the successful implementation by the Cook County Recorder of Deeds of, a practice whereby a postcard is now sent to the registered owner of any property on which someone is trying to record a document affecting the registered owner’s title to the property.
Over the past two and a half years in the Juvenile Justice Division, Tom has embraced, promoted and spearheaded juvenile justice reform on many fronts. He has overseen and expanded the Diversion Program in which first time offenders are diverted from the Juvenile Court system into programs designed to make them more competent and more accountable to the victim and the community without formal court involvement. He is a member of the Balanced and Restorative Justice Task Force which is committed to the expanded knowledge of and use of restorative justice practices in Cook County. Restorative Justice practices are designed to build competencies in minors and have them take responsibility for their actions with the victim and their peers and the community rather than have responsibility imposed by the court system. Tom is also a member of the Illinois Balanced and Restorative Justice Program Board, whose mission it is to spread restorative justice practices throughout the State of Illinois.
Tom is also currently a member of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Executive Board, in Cook County. JDAI is a national initiative committed to reducing the number of incarcerated youth by promoting and expanding programs such as the Evening Reporting Centers Program in which court involved youth, instead of being detained, are ordered to go to school and then to evening reporting centers to do homework, eat and engage in recreational activities in the afternoon and evening. Tom is also a member of the Redeploy Illinois Oversight Board whose job it is to oversee funding of programs throughout the State of Illinois that effectively reduce the number of youth a community sends for incarceration in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.
Tom has spoken publicly at many juvenile justice events including being a panelist at the Chicago Bar Associations 2009 presentation: “Save Our Children: The Role of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Community in Preventing the Killing of Children.” Tom has also been a guest speaker on Juvenile Justice Reform at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
Tom and his wife, Nancy, live in Oak Park. They are the proud parents of three children, Isabel, 11, Natalie, 9, and Sam, 5.
Recommended or Qualified to Serve a Judge:
• Asian-American Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association
• Chicago Council of Lawyers
• Hellenic Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Lesbian and Gay Bar Association
• Puerto Rican Bar Association
• Women’s Bar Association
