Thomas V. Lyons now uncontested for O'Malley vacancy

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Melanie Rose Nuby has withdrawn from the race to replace Cook County Circuit Judge James P. O'Malley. This leaves Judge Thomas V. Lyons, who was appointed to this vacancy by the Illinois Supreme Court in August 2008, as the only remaining candidate for that vacancy in the February 2, 2010 Democratic primary.

Since there are no Republican or Green Party candidates for this vacancy, Judge Lyons no longer faces any electoral obstacle to keeping his job.

Before going on the bench, Lyons practiced with the Nolan Law Group. He joined that office in 2005 after nearly two decades with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, where he had served as deputy chief of the civil actions bureau and chief of the Special Litigation Division. Prior to that, according to a December 27, 2005 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article, Lyons was a top prosecutor in the Felony Trial Division.