The Life and Career of Richard Devine

Richard A. ''Dick'' Devine was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 5. 1943. Dick Devine attended Loyola Academy and also graduated from Loyola University. He completed his law degree at Northwestern University School of Law. In his work as a lawyer he argued in the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. As previously noted he worked as an aid and first assistant to Richard M. Daley. He also practiced law as for Shefsky, Froehich and Devine where he was partner. Finally he returned to work for the city of Chicago where he was a member of the Greylord Commission which was appointed to reform Cook County, Illinois. He also spent time as the President of the Chicago Park District. Why was he so devoted to Chicago? He was following in the footsteps of his father who also worked for the city.

Attorney Richard Devine plays basketball three times a week in the Senior Basketball League and he claims it is to relieve some of the pressures he experiences as State's Attorney. Back at the office, Dick Devine manages with the same intensity he does on the basketball court. He ran the nation's second largest prosecutor's office, with a staff of over 2,000, that included more than 900 attorneys, and did it all on a $106 million budget. His colleagues asked him to explain how he did it. How did he have time to get to know all his employees, supervise the staff of 2900 and still try his own cases?

Dick Devine says the secret is in knowing his staff. He and others spend a lot of time looking at the staff for people who show leadership traits. They are promoted on their ability and their commitment to the job. He thinks there is no hiding in the prosecutor's office because everyone goes to court, argues the case and gets a verdict which is either a win or a lose and in that arena people can really be measured based on their abilities.

Attorney Richard Devine was asked what was the most memorable work for the city. Without hesitation he referred to a grueling experience where he and his staff did work that was not pleasant for any staff. His office conducted the unprecedented clemency hearings. The orders were from the Governor of Illinois where almost all of the state's death row inmates went under a review. This became one of the most thorough reviews of Capital Punishment in the history of the United States. The office of Dick Devine handled 80 of the 160 cases. The initial research found 13 men to be innocent. The reason it was grueling work is because Dick Devine and his staff had to work with all the families of the victims. This is what Attorney Richard Devine said of his staff's work,

''...watching the tremendous impact on the (victim) families and the caring they had for our prosecutors, as well as for the victim-witness specialists and investigators, was the proudest period I've had in all my years of being affiliated with this office.''