Cook County Circuit Court Judge Judith C. Rice will appear on the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election ballot in a nonpartisan retention vote.

Rice has served on the Cook County Circuit Court since December 2014. She is the presiding judge of the Domestic Violence Division, according to the American Bar Association. North Shore voters in Cook County will see her name on their ballots and vote yes or no on whether to retain her.

In a retention election, no challenger appears on the ballot. Voters decide whether to keep a sitting judge.

Candidate information

  • Name: Judith C. Rice
  • Born: July 30, 1957, in Chicago
  • Education: Bachelor of arts in communications, Loyola University Chicago (1981); juris doctor in law, John Marshall Law School, now UIC John Marshall Law School (1988)
  • Current role: Presiding Judge, Domestic Violence Division, Cook County Circuit Court
  • Previous retention: Rice won retention in the Nov. 3, 2020, election with 78.3% yes votes (1,285,368 yes to 355,910 no), according to Wikipedia.

Experience and public service

Rice began her legal career as a prosecutor at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in 1988, according to the American Bar Association. She then served as an assistant to the Illinois attorney general before moving to the City of Chicago.

Her city government positions included assistant corporation counsel, director of administrative adjudication, director of the Department of Revenue, and executive assistant to Mayor Richard M. Daley. Rice became the first woman to serve as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Water and later the first woman to lead the Chicago Department of Transportation, according to Wikipedia.

Rice served as Chicago city treasurer from November 2000 to December 2006. She then served as deputy mayor of Chicago.

Rice later joined BMO Harris Bank as senior vice president and director of government relations, community affairs and economic development.

On the bench, Rice has been assigned to the Domestic Relations Division and later became presiding judge of the Domestic Violence Division. In September 2022, she launched the After Hours Emergency Order of Protection Pilot, which enables domestic violence survivors to receive orders of protection outside regular court business hours.

In August 2024, Rice received the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence's Judith S. Kaye Award for what the Illinois Courts described as "exemplary leadership developing courtroom responses to domestic and sexual violence issues." She has also served on the advisory board of the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center.

Endorsements

Rice has received endorsements from the following organizations, according to BallotReady:

  • IUOE Local 150
  • Cook County Democrats

North Shore Weekly did not receive candidate questionnaire responses from Rice. This profile is based on publicly available information from reviewed sources.