Michael I. O'Malley launches judicial bid, has fundraiser tonight

Per email received from the campaign's treasurer, Daniel Lapinski, Assistant State's Attorney Michael I. O'Malley has launched a judicial bid and a campaign website. That's a link to the campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the blog Sidebar.

Also per Lapinski's email, O'Malley's supporters are hosting a fundraiser for their candidate tonight, November 10, at the West Side Billy Goat Tavern, 1535 W. Madison Street, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are available at this link and are priced at $100 each. Sponsorships are available as well (Bronze - $250, Silver - $500, Gold - $1,000, Platinum - $5,400) and discounted "government" tickets are available for $50 each.

Licensed as an attorney in Illinois, O'Malley works as an Assistant State's Attorney. According to his campaign biography, O'Malley began his professional life as a CPA following his graduation from Northern Illinois University with a degree in accounting. During this phase of his life, O'Malley worked for "several large corporations including AON, the Northern Trust Company, and JP Morgan Chase." He attended law school at night at John Marshall while still working for Chase. He has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 2005.

As an Assistant State's Attorney, O'Malley has worked in the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau and the the Public Corruption and Financial Crimes Units. In this latter role, according to his campaign bio, O'Malley "led several investigations and prosecutions of individuals who embezzled funds from the taxpayers of Cook County. This included the investigation and prosecution of 7 individuals who stole nearly $1,000,000 from the Chicago Public Schools. Mr. O’Malley led the prosecution of two public officials who stole $350,000 from a southwest suburban fire department, resulting in a conviction and 8 year prison sentence for the organizer of the criminal enterprise."

A native of Elmwood Park, O'Malley attended Fenwick High School. According to his campaign bio, O'Malley has also "volunteered for several community organizations throughout Cook County, including Immaculate Conception grade school on Chicago’s northwest side, St. Agatha’s Catholic Church in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood, and St. Pius V Catholic Church in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Mr. O'Malley has also volunteered to coach law school trial teams and judge trial advocacy competitions."