Cook County Judge Judith C. Rice, who would become Illinois' first openly lesbian appellate court justice, is running for the 1st District Appellate Court in the Nov. 3, 2026, election.

Rice, a Democrat, is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady. She is seeking the Hoffman Vacancy, which is for the rest of an unexpired term. The 1st District covers Cook County.

Candidate information

  • Name: Judith C. Rice
  • Party: Democratic
  • 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)

Experience and public service

Rice has held elected office, government appointments and private-sector roles across more than four decades in Chicago, according to her Wikipedia biography and her American Bar Association profile.

She began her career as a victim/witness assistant at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in 1982. After earning her law degree, she worked as a prosecutor at the same office and as an assistant to the Illinois attorney general.

Rice went on to serve in several City of Chicago roles under Mayor Richard M. Daley: assistant corporation counsel, director of administrative adjudication, director of the Department of Revenue, executive assistant to the mayor, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Water and head of the Chicago Department of Transportation. She was the first woman to lead both the water department and the transportation department.

Rice served as Chicago city treasurer from November 2000 through December 2006. She then served as deputy mayor before joining BMO Harris Bank as senior vice president and director of government relations, community affairs and economic development.

She was elected to the Cook County Circuit Court in December 2014. On the bench, she has been assigned to the Domestic Relations Division and later served as presiding judge of the Domestic Violence Division. In that role, Rice launched the After Hours Emergency Order of Protection Pilot in September 2022. The program enabled domestic violence survivors to obtain orders of protection outside regular court hours, according to the American Bar Association.

Rice received the ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence's Judith S. Kaye Award in August 2024 for what the organization called her "exemplary leadership developing courtroom responses to domestic and sexual violence issues," according to an Illinois Courts news release.

She has also served on the advisory board of the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center, her biography states.

Rice won retention to the 7th Subcircuit of the Cook County Circuit Court in the Nov. 3, 2020, retention election with 78.3% yes votes.

Endorsements

Rice has received the following endorsements, according to BallotReady:

  • AFL-CIO
  • Cook County Democrats

The Evanston Wire did not receive questionnaire responses from this candidate. This profile is based on publicly available information reviewed by our editorial team.