Illinois Supreme Court Justice Bob Thomas announced today via press release he is retiring from the Illinois Supreme Court effective Feb. 29.
Prior to serving as a Justice, Thomas spent 12 years in the NFL as kicker. He played for the Bears from 1975-82, and from 1983-84 after spending a season in Detroit.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to have served on the Illinois Supreme Court as well as on the appellate and circuit courts over the past 32 years,” Thomas said in a statement in the Chicago Tribune. “While I will miss the collegial atmosphere with my colleagues on the court, I am ready to return to the practice of law and help clients achieve justice.”
Thomas, 67, will join Chicago law firm Power Rogers. Joe Power, a co-founder of the firm, represented Thomas in a defamation case against a newspaper in 2006.
Before he played for the Bears, Thomas played for the University of Notre Dame, where he started for three years. He was a member of the Notre Dame national championship team in 1973. He received his law degree from Loyola University School of Law.
During the 1977 NFL season, Thomas kicked the 28-yard overtime field goal that sent the Bears to the postseason for the first time in 14 years.
NFL
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of the Bears.