Juliana Stratton (née Wiggins; born September 8, 1965) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 48th

lieutenant governor of Illinois The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their ...

since 2019. She won the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

elections for the office on a ticket with

JB Pritzker Jay Robert Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 43rd governor of Illinois. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain, Pritzker has started several vent ...

. She previously served as a Democratic member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

from 2017 to 2019. She is the first African-American woman and fourth woman overall to become Illinois's lieutenant governor. She is a candidate in the Democratic primary for the

2026 United States Senate election in Illinois The 2026 United States Senate election in Illinois will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Illinois. Incumbent Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who was re-elected in 2020 with 54 ...

Early life and education

Stratton was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and raised in the South Side neighborhood of Pill Hill. Her father, Jack Wiggins, was a

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

and her mother, Velma Wiggins, was a teacher who worked in Chicago Public Schools and the City Colleges of Chicago. She attended

Kenwood Academy Kenwood Academy is a comprehensive public four-year high school, with a middle school magnet program for gifted students, located in the Kenwood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Operated by the Chicago Public Sc ...

, and earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1987. She returned to Chicago after graduating to work as a video producer for the city government. She later attended law school and earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

in 1992.

Early career

In 1997, after a stint in private practice as a lawyer, Stratton started her own

consulting firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad ra ...

, JDS Mediation Services, focused on

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

and

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

. She served as an arbitrator, legal hearing commissioner, and

administrative law judge An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law, thus involving administrative units of the executive branch of go ...

for several government agencies, including the City of Chicago's Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection, Office of Administrative Hearings, and Commission on Human Relations. From 2011 to 2014, she served as Executive Director of the

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

Justice Advisory Council, a body charged with coordinating and implementing criminal justice reform efforts for the Cook County Board President. From 2015 to 2017, she was the Director for the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. She was also a founding board member of the Chicago's Children's Advocacy Center and served on the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Protective Association.

Illinois House of Representatives

In 2016, Stratton challenged Ken Dunkin for the 5th district seat in the

. Dunkin had faced criticism from fellow Democrats for holding out support on bills that would have reversed changes made by Republican

Illinois Governor The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, venture capitalist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he had a decades-long career in inves ...

to social service programs. Stratton received an endorsement from President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, as well as support from several unions due to her support for "child care, labor, and home care". In the primary election March 2016, she defeated Dunkin decisively, with 68% of the vote. The race was one of the most expensive in the Illinois House, with a total of $6 million in contributions for the candidates. By August 2017, she had led 25 bills, with 9 appearing before Governor

, and served on several committees.

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

On August 9, 2017, Stratton was announced as

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 43rd governor of Illinois. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain, Pritzker has started several vent ...

's running mate in the 2018 gubernatorial election. She cited

early childhood education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of Education sciences, education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is ...

and

women's reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights: Reproductive rights rest on the recognit ...

as two of her priorities, with

criminal justice reform Criminal justice reform is the reform of criminal justice systems. Stated reasons for criminal justice reform include reducing crime statistics, racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, under-reporting, and ...

as another. As of November 7, 2018, she was elected to the position of

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their ...

with her and Pritzker defeating Republican incumbents

and Evelyn Sanguinetti. Accordingly, she resigned from the Illinois House of Representatives effective December 31, 2018. Since taking office, Stratton has spearheaded the Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative and chairs the Illinois Council on Women and Girls, The Governor's Rural Affairs Council, the Military and Economic Development Council, and the Illinois River Coordinating Council. In July 2021, Pritzker and Stratton announced that they would both be running for re-election in 2022. On November 8, 2022, Pritzker and Stratton won re-election, defeating Republican challengers

Darren Bailey Darren Bailey (born March 17, 1966) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate for the 55th District and previously a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 109th District in Southern Illinois. ...

and

Stephanie Trussell The 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Illinois, concurrently with the 2022 Illinois general election. Gubernatorial candidates ran on tickets with candidates for lieutenant governor. ...

. They began their second term on January 9, 2023.

2026 U.S. Senate candidacy

In April 2025, Stratton announced her candidacy for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

after incumbent Senator

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Dem ...

announced he would not seek re-election. She was endorsed by Pritzker and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel serving since 2017 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States ...

Personal life

Stratton is married and is the mother of four daughters and lives in Bronzeville. She cites her hobby of running

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

s and

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

s as giving her the discipline needed for the rigors of campaigning. In Chicago, she is a member of the

Chicago Bar Association Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary bar association with over 20,000 members. Like other bar associations, it concerns itself with professional ethics, networking among members, and continuing legal education. It is ...

and the city's chapter of

Jack and Jill of America Jack and Jill of America is an American leadership organization for African American mothers and their children. It was established in Philadelphia in 1938. The organization aims to improve the quality of life of children, particularly African-Ame ...

. Stratton was among the first customers to purchase

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

when Illinois began recreational sale of the drug on January 1, 2020.

Notes

References

External links

Government website

Campaign website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, Juliana 1965 births African-American state legislators in Illinois African-American people in Illinois politics DePaul University College of Law alumni Lieutenant governors of Illinois Living people Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Illinois Democrats Politicians from Chicago University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Women state legislators in Illinois 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians Kenwood Academy alumni 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly African-American candidates for the United States Senate