Ashonta Rice

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ashonta Rice

Democratic Party

Candidate, Cook County Circuit Court

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 19, 2024

Next election

March 17, 2026

Ashonta Rice (Democratic Party) (formerly Ashonta Rice-Akiwowo) is running for election for judge of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. Rice declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on March 17, 2026.^[source]

Elections

2026

See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2026)

General election

The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court

Incumbent Michael Cabonargi (D) and Ashonta Rice (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Michael Cabonargi
	Submit photo	Ashonta Rice

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2024)

General election

General election for Cook County Circuit Court

James Murphy-Aguilú won election in the general election for Cook County Circuit Court on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James Murphy-Aguilú (D)	100.0	1,369,131

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,369,131
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court

James Murphy-Aguilú advanced from the Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James Murphy-Aguilú	100.0	407,797

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 407,797
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ashonta Rice (D)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Rice in this election.

2018

See also: Illinois local trial court judicial elections, 2018

General election

General election for Cook County Circuit Court 15th Subcircuit

Michael Barrett won election in the general election for Cook County Circuit Court 15th Subcircuit on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michael Barrett (D)	100.0	101,047

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 101,047 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court 15th Subcircuit

Michael Barrett defeated Ashonta Rice in the Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court 15th Subcircuit on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michael Barrett	58.7	28,836
	Submit photo	Ashonta Rice	41.3	20,247

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 49,083
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Rivanda Beal (D)

Selection method

See also: Partisan elections

There are 513 judges on the Illinois Circuit Court, each elected in partisan elections to six-year terms. Upon the completion of these terms, judges who wish to continue serving must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections.

The chief judge of each circuit court is selected by peer vote; he or she serves in that capacity indefinitely.

The circuit courts are also served by 391 associate judges, who are limited in that they may not preside over cases in which the defendant is charged with a felony (an offense punishable by one or more years in prison). Associate judges are appointed to four-year terms by circuit judges.

Midterm vacancies are filled by Illinois Supreme Court appointment.

Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a circuit/county resident; and
• licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ashonta Rice has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Ashonta Rice, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 24,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.

2024

Ashonta Rice did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2026 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

Illinois courts

---

Federal courts:

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois

State courts:

Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court

State resources:

Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois