Former AG Candidate Tom DeVore’s Law License Suspended 60 Days

The Illinois Supreme Court has ordered that attorney Thomas “Tom” DeVore’s law license be suspended for sixty days, citing serious professional misconduct. The court’s decision, announced September 23 and effective October 10, follows findings that DeVore violated multiple rules of professional conduct while representing a client with whom he had entered into a sexual and financial relationship. According to disciplinary records, DeVore began a romantic involvement with the woman while continuing to serve as her attorney, helped her obtain business financing without required disclosures or independent counsel, and later filed a series of motions and protective orders against her despite a federal bankruptcy stay. A U.S. bankruptcy judge previously described some of those actions as “egregious violations” of court procedure, and the state’s disciplinary board recommended the 60-day suspension earlier this year.

DeVore first rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he became a leading legal challenger of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s emergency restrictions on businesses and schools. Working from his law office in southern Illinois, he filed a series of lawsuits on behalf of parents, business owners, and local officials who argued that the governor’s executive orders overstepped constitutional authority. These high-profile cases earned him widespread name recognition among conservatives frustrated with state mandates and helped establish him as a prominent critic of Pritzker’s pandemic policies.

Building on that attention, DeVore ran as the Republican nominee for Illinois Attorney General in 2022. Campaigning as an anti-establishment candidate who promised to rein in government overreach and aggressively defend individual liberties, he positioned himself as a constitutional watchdog and a voice for voters skeptical of state authority. Despite the momentum from his pandemic-era lawsuits and a spirited grassroots campaign, DeVore lost the statewide race to Democratic incumbent Kwame Raoul, finishing well behind in the November general election.

DeVore’s penchant for confrontation and courtroom battles began years before his law license suspension. In 2017, while campaigning for a seat on the Hillsboro school board in Montgomery County, he ignited a firestorm with a Facebook post mocking students working at a concession stand, writing, “Lord help us with the window lickers, I mean special children.” The remark, widely recognized as an ableist slur, sparked outrage among parents, educators, and disability-rights advocates. Instead of issuing a public apology and moving forward, DeVore responded with lawsuits. He filed defamation claims against a special education teacher and several local residents who criticized his words, arguing that their public comments damaged his reputation. Those lawsuits were eventually dismissed, but the episode cemented an early image of DeVore as a candidate quick to wield the legal system as a weapon against critics rather than as a tool for public service.

That litigious streak carried into his private and professional life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DeVore began representing salon owner Riley Craig in challenges to state business restrictions. While still serving as her attorney, he entered into a romantic relationship with her and joined her in launching a hair-care business, Future You Brands, LLC. Records from the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) show DeVore helped secure more than $600,000 in financing for the venture without following the ethical safeguards required when attorneys enter business arrangements with clients. Their relationship soured, but DeVore continued to represent her, drafting divorce pleadings and filing motions on her behalf even as their personal involvement deepened.

When Craig filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2023, DeVore persisted in legal maneuvers that a federal bankruptcy judge later described as “egregious violations” of court procedure. Despite the automatic stay that halts most legal actions once bankruptcy is declared, DeVore filed for a temporary restraining order and sought an emergency order of protection against Craig. These filings were viewed by the ARDC as attempts to burden and embarrass his former client, adding to the ethical breaches that ultimately led to his suspension.

Their personal disputes also spilled into public view. Springfield police were called to assist Craig after a heated argument with DeVore. Body-camera footage from that night shows Craig visibly upset as officers and her parents helped her retrieve belongings from DeVore. Although no criminal charges were filed, the encounter became part of the disciplinary record and added a troubling dimension to the professional misconduct case.