Keely Patricia Hillison

Name: Keely Patricia Hillison

Party: Democratic

Current residence: Western Springs

Current position: Partner, Parrillo Weiss LLC, 1988-present

Past legal experience: Associate, Sidney R. Berger, 1986-1987; associate, William L. Needler & Associates, 1985-1986

Campaign funds available, July 1 to Dec. 31: $17,167.58

Campaign funds spent, July 1 to Dec. 31: $10,989.58

Law school: University of Illinois, 1985, J.D., cum laude

Campaign website: www.KeelyHillisonforJudge.com

Family: My husband, Bob, is an attorney. My daughter, Jamie, is a college student. My son, Joe, has special needs and is striving to enter the workforce someday.

Hobbies/interests: Skating,canoeing, hiking, board games with my family, reading

Have you ever run for office before?

Why should voters support your candidacy?

I have a unique combination of extensive civil litigation, trial court, appellate court, and arbitration experience. We need more judges with civil litigation experience. With my appellate and trial court experience, I appreciate how rulings of judges and actions of attorneys and litigants affect ultimate outcomes of cases beyond the trial court level,and appreciate how trial court rulings, if appealed, may establish legal precedents which apply to other cases. I have the knowledge, experience, integrity, patience and temperament to be a good judge, and I have earned the trust and respect of colleagues, opponents and judges alike.

Why do you want to be a judge?

I was motivated by the last election to do more than just vote. Voting alone does not ensure that good candidates are elected. It is time for well-qualified individuals to step forward and run for public office. Judge is a critical public office for which I am well-qualified and well suited.

What was the most interesting case you handled as a lawyer?

In one of my first appeals, Sweeney v. Sengstacke Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Chicago Defender and Chinta Strausberg, 180 lll.App.3d 1044 (1” Dist. 1989), I represented the Chicago Defender newspaper publisher and reporter in a defamation action. The case touched on First Amendment rights, free speech, Chicago politics, interactions between police and minorities, history, and a tragic episode which helped spur the Civil Rights Movement.

What would you consider your greatest career accomplishment?

In Founders v. Munoz, 237 Ill. 2d 424 (2010), I successfully petitioned the Supreme Court of Illinois to take an appeal and successfully argued the appeal before the Supreme Court in Springfield. Afterwards, I replayed the oral argument, as recorded on the Supreme Court’s website, and saw my mother and daughter in the audience behind me, watching and listening intently. Founders, id., established a legal precedent which is still followed. The success in Founders, id., resulted from cooperation and coordination of efforts between myself and the attorney for another party in the consolidated cases, Shari Shelmadine.

What qualities do you plan to bring to the bench?

I bring patience, an even temperament, and a calm demeanor, derived from my innate personality and enhanced by years of raising my special needs child and interacting with his special needs friends. These vulnerable members of society are often overlooked or mistreated and inspire my determination to treat everyone equally and fairly with courtesy, respect, and dignity, regardless of appearance or circumstance. I will also bring to the bench the integrity and trustworthiness which my colleagues and opposing counsel have come to expect from me throughout the years.