| Thomas R. Chiola | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County from the 8th Subcircuit | |
| In office 1994–2009 | |
| Succeeded by | Celia G. Gamrath |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-03-18) March 18, 1952 (age 72) |
| Alma mater | Illinois State University (BS) University of Illinois (JD) |
Thomas R. Chiola (born March 18, 1952) served as a judge of the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1994 to 2009. He was the first openly gay person elected to public office in Illinois.
Early life and education
Chiola grew up in Springfield, Illinois. He graduated from Springfield's Griffin High School (now Sacred Heart-Griffin High School) in 1970. Chiola then received a Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University in 1974 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1977. He served as an administrative law judge. He also served as general counsel of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation.
Judicial service
In 1994, Chiola was elected to the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County. Chiola was the first openly gay candidate elected to any federal, state, county or municipal office in Illinois.
Honors
In 1997, Chiola was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
See also
- List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Illinois
- List of LGBT jurists in the United States
References
- Byron Flitsch, History-making gay judge set to retire, Windy City Times (January 6, 2010).
- Neal Pollack, In and Out, Chicago Reader (August 18, 1994).
- Thomas R. Chiola - Lawyer Profile, Martindale.
- Stebbins, John (August 27, 1988). "State board slaps doctor - Panel rules in abortion-linked death". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 3 – via NewsBank.
- Illinois Blue Book 1993-1994. pp. 255–256. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Steve Schmadeke, Gay, lesbian judges in Cook County note their progress, Chicago Tribune (December 6, 2009).
- ^ Joan Biskupic, Amid debate over rights, number of gay judges rising, USA Today (October 17, 2006).
- "Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2015-04-07.