Judge Thomas Chiola, who served in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1994-2009, has officially endorsed Justice Joy Cunningham for reelection to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Chiola is the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in Illinois, and he credited Cunningham with helping him 30 years ago when he experienced homophobia during his Chicago Bar Association evaluation process.

Although the discussions afterwards were supposed to be confidential, word eventually got out in regards to what was said about Chiola's identity. One of the people who learned of those discussions was Cunningham, who subsequently got involved with the evaluation criteria, resulting in positive change for the entire process, Chiola said.

"Her ability to see the injustice thirty years ago, to have been working against such injustices for years before that and continuing to do that work for the last 30 years—I think for all of those reasons she deserves our support," he added.

Although Chiola wasn't close with Cunningham at the time, she was then friends with his campaign treasurer. Over the years, he's formed a relationship with Cunningham, even spending some holidays at her house.

Chiola believes Cunningham's resume and background make her her worthy of reelection. Her community involvement for many years, which included working as a nurse and volunteering at Planned Parenthood prior to law school, gives her a unique perspective, he explained.

"She is one of the smartest, most compassionate, most thoughtful people who could be in a position like that," he said. "She's serving honorably and extremely well. Why replace someone with those kinds of credentials?"

An interview with Cunningham is at Website Link Here . An interview with her opponent, Jesse G. Reyes, is at Website Link Here .