Former Prosecutor

Fiaoni practices criminal defense and family law at her own firm in Homewood. In the 1990s, she served as the chief of police in Chicago Heights for two years, making her the first female police chief in Cook County, and then served as police superintendent for a time. Before that, she spent five years working as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. Fiaoni previously ran for judge in 2010 and 1998 as a Democrat, and in 1994 as a Republican. Fiaoni was unopposed in the Republican primary this year.

Bar Association ratings: Mixed

This year: The CBA found Fiaoni highly qualified, and the CCL found Fiaoni qualified, writing that she “has a range of experience which translates well into what is needed for her to be a good judge.” The ISBA found her not qualified, however. In response, Fiaoni said she can’t offer an explanation for the ISBA rating, but pointed out the discrepancy between that rating and her other strong ratings. The ISBA said that Fiaoni’s ratings were based on concerns about her experience with complex cases and inadequate answers to the survey. Fiaoni said, “If my choice is filling out a bar exam impeccably to their satisfaction or visiting my client in jail or holding his mother’s hand while she cries because he’s been accused of a murder, I allocate my time to my clients.”
Past: Fiaoni was rated qualified by the CBA and the CCL when she ran for judge in 2010.

Notable: As Chicago Heights police chief, she implemented community policing programs, required that domestic violence be reported as assault, and faced community criticism after a police shooting.

Survey response: The candidate did not return answers to an Injustice Watch questionnaire.