Thomas R. Chiola
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]
Thomas R. Chiola | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County | |
| In office 1994–2009 | |
| Succeeded by | Celia G. Gamrath |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 18, 1952 |
| Alma mater | Illinois State University (B.S.) University of Illinois College of Law (J.D.) |
Early life and education
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]
Judicial service
In 1994, Chiola was elected to the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County.[4][5] Chiola was the first openly gay candidate elected to any federal, state, county or municipal office in Illinois.[4][5]
Honors
In 1997 Chiola was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.[6]
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.
- 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).
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2015-04-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)