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  • LGBT people from Illinois
  • Gay men
  • Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County
  • People from Springfield, Illinois
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    Thomas R. Chiola

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min
    Thomas R. Chiola
    Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County from the 8th Subcircuit
    In office
    1994–2009
    Succeeded byCelia G. Gamrath
    Personal details
    Born (1952-03-18) March 18, 1952 (age 70)
    Alma materIllinois 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.[1]

    Early life and education[edit]

    Chiola grew up in Springfield, Illinois.[2] 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.[3] He served as an administrative law judge.[4] He also served as general counsel of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation.[5]

    Judicial service[edit]

    In 1994, Chiola was elected to the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County.[6][7] Chiola was the first openly gay candidate elected to any federal, state, county or municipal office in Illinois.[6][7]

    Honors[edit]

    In 1997, Chiola was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.[8]

    See also[edit]

    • List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Illinois
    • List of LGBT jurists in the United States

    References[edit]

    1. ^ Byron Flitsch, History-making gay judge set to retire, Windy City Times (January 6, 2010).
    2. ^ Neal Pollack, In and Out, Chicago Reader (August 18, 1994).
    3. ^ Thomas R. Chiola - Lawyer Profile, Martindale.
    4. ^ Stebbins, John (August 27, 1988). "State board slaps doctor - Panel rules in abortion-linked death". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 3 – via NewsBank.
    5. ^ Illinois Blue Book 1993-1994. pp. 255–256. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
    6. ^ a b Steve Schmadeke, Gay, lesbian judges in Cook County note their progress, Chicago Tribune (December 6, 2009).
    7. ^ a b Joan Biskupic, Amid debate over rights, number of gay judges rising, USA Today (October 17, 2006).
    8. ^ "Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
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