Thomas R. Chiola (born March 18, 1952) served as a judge of the

Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that cour ...

from 1994 to 2009. He was the first openly gay person elected to public office in Illinois.Byron Flitsch
History-making gay judge set to retire
''

Windy City Times ''Windy City Times'' is an LGBT newspaper in Chicago that published its first issue on September 26, 1985. History ''Windy City Times'' was founded in 1985 by Jeff McCourt, Bob Bearden, Drew Badanish and Tracy Baim, who started Sentury Publicat ...

'' (January 6, 2010).

Early life and education

Chiola grew up in Springfield, Illinois.Neal Pollack
In and Out
'' Chicago Reader'' (August 18, 1994). He graduated from Springfield's Griffin High School (now Sacred Heart-Griffin High School) in 1970. Chiola then received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

in 1974 and a Juris Doctor from the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S ...

in 1977.Thomas R. Chiola - Lawyer Profile
'' Martindale''. 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

.Steve Schmadeke
Gay, lesbian judges in Cook County note their progress
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' (December 6, 2009).

Joan Biskupic Joan Biskupic ( hr, Biskupić; born ) is an American journalist, author, and lawyer who has covered the United States Supreme Court since 1989. Early life and education Biskupic is one of nine siblings born to a Catholic family of Croatian and ...

Amid debate over rights, number of gay judges rising
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' (October 17, 2006). 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 The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Chic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiola, Thomas R. 1952 births Living people Illinois State University alumni University of Illinois College of Law alumni LGBT appointed officials in the United States LGBT judges LGBT people from Illinois Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County People from Springfield, Illinois American gay men

Early life and education

Judicial service

Honors

See also

References