Kathryn Maloney Vahey to make 4th Subcircuit bid

Assistant Public Defender Kathryn Maloney Vahey has announced plans to seek a 4th Subcircuit vacancy. Her supporters have launched a campaign website in support of this bid. That's a link to the site in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the blog Sidebar.

According to ARDC, Vahey has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1998. In addition to the usual bachelor's and law degrees (in her case, from Canisius College and Loyola University Chicago, respectively), Vahey holds an M.A. in Spanish Language and Culture from Middlebury College in Vermont, according to her campaign bio.

The campaign bio notes that Vahey worked as a caseworker at St. Vincent’s Services in Brooklyn, New York, managing a caseload of children in foster care throughout New York City. While in law school, Vahey worked as a law clerk for Equip for Equality, a federally funded nonprofit organization that advocates for people with disabilities in Illinois. She also clerked for the Public Defender's Office, staying with that office since graduation. According to her campaign bio, Vahey now handles felony cases in Bridgeview.

Vahey, her husband, and their two sons live in Riverside. Her boys attend the local grade school and junior high school, according to the campaign bio. Vahey has served as the PTA Vice President of Fundraising for 2 years at Ames school and was also on the playground committee for District 96. In addition, according to the campaign bio, Vahey taught religious education to grade school children at St Mary in Riverside for three years.

She applied for associate judge earlier this year but, at least according to my archives, this appears to be Vahey's first foray into the judicial primary process.