Before entering politics, she worked as a social worker at Mercy Center for Health Care Services. Her interest in politics began when she decided to prevent the opening of a fire station on her street, and Radogno ran successfully for Village of LaGrange Trustee (1989–1996). In 1996, she ran for the Illinois State Senate and narrowly defeated incumbent Robert Raica in the Republican primary. In 2006, she was the Republican nominee for Illinois State Treasurer and was defeated by Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.