Juliana Stratton

Juliana Stratton (born September 8, 1965) is an American politician and lawyer. Since 2019, she has been the 48th lieutenant governor of Illinois under Governor J. B. Pritzker. She is the first African-American woman ever elected to this office. Stratton is a member of the Democratic Party.

Juliana Stratton
Official portrait, 2023
48th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2019
Governor	J.B. Pritzker
Preceded by	Evelyn Sanguinetti
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 5th District
In office January 11, 2017 – January 9, 2019
Preceded by	Kenneth Dunkin
Succeeded by	Lamont Robinson
Personal details
Born	(1965-09-08) September 8, 1965 (age 60)[1] Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	3
Education	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS) DePaul University (JD)

Early life

Stratton was born to a schoolteacher mother and doctor father, and raised in the South Side of Chicago.^[2] Stratton earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University.^[3]

Political career

Before becoming lieutenant governor, Stratton served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from January 2017 to 2019. She represented the 5th district.^[4]

On August 9, 2017, it was announced that Stratton would be J. B. Pritzker's running mate in the 2018 gubernatorial election.^[5]

In April 2025, following U.S. Senator Dick Durbin's retirement announcement, Stratton announced her candidacy in the Democratic primary for the 2026 Senate election to replace him.^[6]

Personal life

Stratton is married and is the mother of four daughters and lives in Bronzeville. Stratton was among the first customers to purchase cannabis when Illinois began recreational sale of the drug on January 1, 2020.^[7]