Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kristal Rivers appears on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot for a retention vote. The nonpartisan question reaches voters across Cook County, including residents in Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe and Northfield.
Retention elections do not pit candidates against each other. Voters decide yes or no on whether a sitting judge should remain in office.
Candidate information
- Name: Kristal Rivers
- Office: Illinois Circuit Court Judge, Cook County Circuit
- Race: Retain Rivers? (nonpartisan retention)
- Election: Illinois General Election, Nov. 3, 2026
- Ballot status: Certified for the ballot
- Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, 1993; juris doctor, Drake University, 1996
Experience and public service
Rivers has held the Cook County Circuit Court bench since 2014, according to BallotReady. Before taking the bench, she served as an assistant attorney general in the Illinois Attorney General's Office from 2010 to 2014.
She ran her own firm, the Law Office of Kristal Rivers, LLC, as a solo practitioner and managing partner from 2001 to 2010.
Rivers began her legal career as a prosecutor, serving as an assistant district attorney in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office in Texas from 1997 to 2000.
On the issues
No issue responses from Rivers were available in the reviewed candidate materials for this profile.
Endorsements
No endorsements were available in the reviewed candidate materials for this profile.
Candidate information in this profile is drawn from BallotReady profile and election data reviewed by North Shore Weekly producers. Voters can find judicial evaluation information through the Chicago Bar Association and other area bar associations ahead of the election.
