U.S. Senate candidate Juliana Stratton pumps up Democratic faithful in predominantly Republican Adams County

The Lt. Governor vows check the “most corrupt president in the history of the United States” while in Congress

QUINCY–Democrat Juliana Stratton stopped along Quincy’s Maine Street on her quest to spread her message across “every corner of the state,” in these final days of the Mid-Term Election campaign, where she faces former State Republican Chair Don Tracy for the seat of retiring Senator Dick Durbin.

“My message to Quincy is we’re not going to take anything for granted,” Stratton said. “We have so much momentum. We need to continue to do everything we can, not just keep Illinois blue, but to make sure we elect people who are really going to stand up and fight against Donald Trump and for the people of Illinois.”

Stratton said she would continue to champion, as Durbin has, the Quincy Bay Restoration Project to combat severe sedimentation, siltation, and water volume loss in Quincy Bay along the Upper Mississippi River.

“This is a time we need real fighters in Washington,” Stratton said. “I’ve heard from voters. They tell me that they feel it doesn’t matter who is in Washington. Their lives aren’t getting any better. Everything is too expensive right now. People have said they’re looking for a fighter and I’m proud to be here and let Quincy know I am that fighter.”

Among the battles Stratton’s ready to wage:

Raise the federal minimum wage, now at $7.25 an hour
Healthcare for everyone
Government for people, not corporate special interest, which is why she hasn’t accepted any corporate PAC (Politcal Action Committee) money
End war in Iran, to bring diesel fuel prices down
Five-year Farm Bill

As to what she thinks of one of her opponent’s slogans: “Don’t Vote for Crazy, Vote for Don Tracy,” her message is clear.

“What’s crazy is to think it’s okay to strip away healthcare for millions of Americans,” Stratton said. “It’s crazy to think that you can take food out of the mouths of hungry children and do this just to give the wealthiest among us a tax break.”

It is a reference to the Big Beautiful Bill, a major federal tax-and-spending reconciliation package signed into law by President Donald Trump. It slashed funding for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and made cuts to what’s commonly called the “food stamps” program, with tighter work requirements. To offset spending cuts, the law allocates up to $1.4 trillion to $4.5 trillion in tax breaks by extending individual tax cuts from the first Trump Administration. Critics say half of the net benefits of these extensions flow directly to the top 5% of households.

“People who go to the Senate are going to have to address the real corruption that’s going on in Washington, D.C.,” Stratton said. “This president is the most corrupt president in the history of the United States. There is a need to make sure we are going to be the kinds of fighters that are going to stand up to this president.

“My opponent will be a rubber stamp to this president. I’m going to be a check on this president. At a time when we see someone who wants to be a dictator. Yes. It’s important that members of Congress are sent there to stand up. Be a check so we have three, co-equal, independent branches of government. Right now, we’re not seeing that happen.”