Juliana Stratton

“There are working families that we have to stand up for to make sure that they can put money in their pockets, save a little, and spend a little in our small businesses.”

Juliana Stratton has served as the 48th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois since 2019, the first African American woman to hold the office. A lawyer and former state representative from Chicago’s South Side, she built her career around criminal justice reform, expanding opportunity, and lifting up working families before joining Governor JB Pritzker’s ticket.

As Lieutenant Governor, Stratton has led the state’s Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative and chaired efforts on rural affairs, economic development, and expanding access to health care. She points to the administration’s record of raising the minimum wage toward $15, protecting reproductive rights, and lowering costs for Illinois families.

In March 2026, Stratton won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin, earning the backing of Governor Pritzker and a coalition of labor and progressive groups. A lifelong Illinoisan, she is campaigning on standing up for working families and pushing back against threats to health care, democracy, and everyday affordability.