O’Shea moves from county board to DuPage judge

DuPage County’s longest-serving county board member will soon be its newest judge.

Republican Patrick O’Shea on Tuesday handily defeated Democrat Alice Wilson for a post in the 18th Judicial Circuit, according to unofficial results.

O’Shea, a Lombard attorney and county board member since 1990, had 55 percent of the vote to Wilson’s 45 percent, with all 748 precincts reporting.

For O’Shea, the contest followed a hard-fought primary in which he bested two Republican associate judges for a shot at replacing Judge Perry Thompson, who retired. Wilson, a Bolingbrook attorney, was unopposed in the primary.

O’Shea could not be reached for comment on his victory.

In campaign materials, he said he has tried more than 200 civil and criminal cases and worked on numerous appeals during his 30-year law career.

He said he supports the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision this year to allow cameras into courtrooms on an experimental basis, as long as it doesn’t interfere with proceedings. He also supports judicial elections rather than appointments.

Wilson had accused O’Shea of embellishing his record and vowed to bring integrity to the bench. Like O’Shea, Wilson also supported cameras in the courtroom and judicial elections over appointments.