Juliana Stratton has served Illinois as Lieutenant Governor for the past seven years and has a lifetime of experience in public service and working for positive change in her community. As both a state representative and as Lieutenant Governor, Juliana has worked to advance the lives of families in Illinois, including raising the minimum wage, banning assault weapons, protecting a woman’s right to choose, investing in business and job growth, and fighting to make life better for middle-class Illinoisans.

Juliana’s priorities are rooted in her own experiences – as a mother, a lifelong public servant, and a daughter who served as primary caretaker for her mother during her battle with Alzheimer’s – that’s why she’s focused on policies that will uplift Illinois’ working and middle class families: making life more affordable, creating and expanding economic opportunities, and protecting our rights and freedoms. She understands that working families need government to be a partner and not a roadblock.

As Lieutenant Governor, Juliana has represented all of Illinois and has traveled across the state, speaking directly to people from all walks of life. She will take that experience to the United States Senate where she will continue to fight for the people of Illinois. 

Family Planning Associates is the largest independent abortion clinic in the nation. As one of CAF’s longest standing and closest partners, their patient-centered care and deep commitment to compassion, consistency, and justice have helped shape our movement in profound ways.

Sara Paretsky revolutionized the mystery world in 1982 when she introduced V.I. Warshawski, in Indemnity Only. By creating a woman PI with the grit to take on the mean streets, Paretsky challenged a genre in which women historically were vamps or victims. While Paretsky’s fiction helped change the narrative about women, her work also opened doors for other writers. In 1986 she founded Sisters in Crime, now a worldwide organization that advocates for women crime writers. This earned her Ms. Magazine’s 1987 Woman of the Year award. She is an MWA Grand Master and holds the Cartier Diamond Dagger. 

Through her Sara & Two C-Dogs foundation, she supports reproductive rights along with STEM and arts programs for young people. In addition to abortion advocacy, she is a fierce public activist for the First Amendment and for immigrant and refugee rights. Her dream is for the oligarchs to label her the Most Dangerous Woman in America (see Mother Jones). 

For fun she takes voice lessons, sings with an early music ensemble, and eats chocolate.