Subject: GLVF Candidate Wins Primary
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 94 13:34:42 EST

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                                              Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
                                              1012 14th Street, NW Suite 707
                                              Washington, DC  20005
                                              voice: (202) 842-8679
                                              fax:   (202) 289-3863
                                              email: [email-masked]

Openly Gay Candidate Wins Chicago Primary: 
Tom Chiola Leads in Race for Cook County Judgeship

WASHINGTON, D.C.    16 March 1994    Victory Fund recommended
candidate Tom Chiola won an overwhelming victory over four candidates
in the March 15 Democratic primary for the Cook County (Chicago)
Circuit Court.  Chiola, who garnered more than 35% of the vote is in good
shape to win the November 8 general election, according to the Victory
Fund's Chicago boardmembers Sharon Mylrea and Stephen L. Wood.

     "This is a historic moment for Chicago's lesbian and gay
community," says Wood.  "Thanks to our unified efforts, Tom Chiola is
poised to become Chicago's first openly gay judge and the first openly gay
candidate to win a major county-wide election in the state of Illinois." 
"Chiola's win with 35% of the vote is especially significant considering the
fact that two of his opponents were sitting judges," notes Mylrea.  "This
margin of victory proves that a qualified openly gay candidate can get
strong support from both gay and straight voters." 

     If Chiola wins in November, he will join Pulaski School Board
member Mark Loveless as Illinois' second openly gay elected official. 
Immensely qualified for this position, Chiola served for over five years as
the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Illinois Department of
Professional Regulation and, as its General Counsel, is the most highly
placed openly gay official in Illinois.  Because he has tried cases involving
such issues as gross malpractice by incompetent physicians, racial steering
by real estate brokers and massive fraud on government programs, his
caseload has generated much positive media attention.  Chiola is widely
known for his volunteer work in the gay and lesbian community and has
taken an active role in the fight to pass a gay rights bill in the Illinois
legislature.

      "Victory Fund support made a world of difference in my primary
race," says Chiola. "Their donor network gave me the early money I
needed to build name recognition and deliver my message to the voters." 
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a national donor network of individuals
dedicated to electing qualified openly lesbian and gay candidates to public
office.  

(For more information, please contact Kathleen DeBold by phone: 202-842-8679 
or e-mail: [email-masked])