Lieutenant Governor of Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Great Seal of the State of Illinois
Incumbent Juliana Stratton since January 14, 2019
Government of Illinois
Term length	4 years, no term limits
Inaugural holder	Pierre Menard
Formation	1818
Salary	$139,200

The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second most important leader in the State of Illinois. Think of them as the state's vice president. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and the governor run for election together. This means you vote for both of them at the same time.

Candidates for governor choose their running mates (the person they want as lieutenant governor) before the election. They appear on the ballot as a team. If the governor of Illinois can no longer do their job, the lieutenant governor steps in. They become the acting governor. If the governor leaves office permanently, the lieutenant governor becomes the new governor.

The Attorney General is next in line after the lieutenant governor. But they do not become lieutenant governor if that office becomes empty. Historically, lieutenant governors have been from either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. The current lieutenant governor is Democrat Juliana Stratton.

Before 1970, governors and lieutenant governors were elected separately. The 1970 Illinois Constitution changed this. It made them run together. This helps them work better as a team.

What Does the Lieutenant Governor Do?

The lieutenant governor of Illinois has many important jobs. These jobs are given to them by state laws.

Some of their main duties include:

• Leading the Governor's Rural Affairs Council. This group helps people in the countryside.
• Chairing the Rural Bond Bank of Illinois. This helps fund projects in rural areas.
• Leading the Illinois Main Street Program. This program helps improve downtown areas.
• Chairing the Illinois River Coordinating Council. This group works to protect the Illinois River.

The governor can also ask the lieutenant governor to do other tasks. Or, the lieutenant governor can start their own projects. For example, former Lt. Gov. Corrine Wood worked on women's health issues. The lieutenant governor also speaks for the governor around the state. They represent the state government at events. They are also a member of the National Lieutenant Governors Association. This is a group for lieutenant governors across the country.

Before 1970, the lieutenant governor also led the Illinois Senate. Losing this role made the job seem less important to some. This led to some lieutenant governors feeling bored.

If the lieutenant governor's office becomes empty, it stays empty until the next election. This happened when Pat Quinn became governor. There was no lieutenant governor for two years.

The lieutenant governor has offices in both Springfield and Chicago. These are the two main cities for state government.

Who Can Be Lieutenant Governor?

To be the lieutenant governor of Illinois, a person must meet certain requirements. They serve for four years. Their term starts in January after the election.

To qualify, a person must be:

• At least 25 years old.
• A citizen of the United States.
• A resident of Illinois for at least three years before the election.
• They cannot hold any other government job during their term.

Past Lieutenant Governors of Illinois

Sometimes, before 1970, the lieutenant governor was from a different political party than the governor. This happened three times. In each case, a Democratic lieutenant governor served with a Republican governor. After the lieutenant governor, the attorney general is next in line to become governor.

#	Image	Lt. governor	Party	Commission date	End date	Governor	Party	Term
1		Pierre Menard	Democratic-Republican	October 6, 1818	December 5, 1822	Shadrach Bond	Democratic- Republican	1818–1822
2		Adolphus Hubbard	Democratic- Republican	December 5, 1822	December 6, 1826	Edward Coles	Democratic- Republican	1822–1826
3		William Kinney	Democratic	December 6, 1826	December 9, 1830	Ninian Edwards	Democratic- Republican	1826–1830
4		Zadok Casey	Democratic	December 9, 1830	March 1, 1833	John Reynolds	Democratic	1830–1834
5		William Lee D. Ewing	Democratic	March 1, 1833	December 5, 1834
Office vacant: November 17 – December 5, 1834						William Lee Davidson Ewing	Democratic	1834
6		Alexander Jenkins	Democratic	December 5, 1834	December 9, 1836 Resigned	Joseph Duncan	Democratic	1834–1838
7		William H. Davidson	Democratic	December 9, 1836 Acting	December 7, 1838
8		Stinson Anderson	Democratic	December 7, 1838	December 8, 1842	Thomas Carlin	Democratic	1838–1842
9		John Moore	Democratic	December 8, 1842	December 9, 1846	Thomas Ford	Democratic	1842–1846
10		Joseph Wells	Democratic	December 9, 1846	January 8, 1849	Augustus C. French	Democratic	1846–1853
11		William McMurtry	Democratic	January 8, 1849	January 10, 1853
12		Gustavus Koerner	Democratic	January 10, 1853	January 12, 1857	Joel Aldrich Matteson	Democratic	1853–1857
13		John Wood	Republican	January 12, 1857	March 20, 1860	William Henry Bissell	Republican	1857–1860
14		Thomas Marshall	Democratic	January 7, 1861	January 14, 1861	John Wood	Republican	1860–1861
15		Francis Hoffmann	Republican	January 14, 1861	January 16, 1865	Richard Yates	Republican	1861–1865
16		William Bross	Republican	January 16, 1865	January 11, 1869	Richard J. Oglesby	Republican	1865–1869
17		John Dougherty	Republican	January 11, 1869	January 13, 1873	John M. Palmer	Republican	1869–1873
18		John Lourie Beveridge	Republican	January 13, 1873	January 23, 1873 Succeeded Oglesby	Richard J. Oglesby	Republican	1873
19		John Early	Republican	January 23, 1873 Acting	January 8, 1875	John Lourie Beveridge	Republican	1873–1877
20		Archibald Glenn	Democratic	January 8, 1875 Acting	January 8, 1877	John Lourie Beveridge	Republican	1873–1877
21		Andrew Shuman	Republican	January 8, 1877	January 10, 1881	Shelby Moore Cullom	Republican	1877–1883
22		John Marshall Hamilton	Republican	January 10, 1881	February 6, 1883 Succeeded Cullom
23		William J. Campbell	Republican	February 6, 1883 Acting	January 30, 1885	John Marshall Hamilton	Republican	1883–1885
24		John Smith	Republican	January 30, 1885	January 14, 1889	Richard J. Oglesby	Republican	1885–1889
25		Lyman Ray	Republican	January 14, 1889	January 10, 1893	Joseph W. Fifer	Republican	1889–1893
26		Joseph B. Gill	Democratic	January 10, 1893	January 11, 1897	John Peter Altgeld	Democratic	1893–1897
27		William Northcott	Republican	January 11, 1897	January 9, 1905	John R. Tanner	Republican	1897–1901
						Richard Yates	Republican	1901–1905
28		Lawrence Sherman	Republican	January 9, 1905	January 18, 1909	Charles S. Deneen	Republican	1905–1913
29		John G. Oglesby	Republican	January 18, 1909	February 3, 1913
30		Barratt O'Hara	Democratic	February 3, 1913	January 8, 1917	Edward F. Dunne	Democratic	1913–1917
31		John G. Oglesby	Republican	January 8, 1917	January 10, 1921	Frank O. Lowden	Republican	1917–1921
32		Fred E. Sterling	Republican	January 10, 1921	January 9, 1933	Len Small	Republican	1921–1929
						Louis L. Emmerson	Republican	1929–1933
33		Thomas Donovan	Democratic	January 9, 1933	January 4, 1937	Henry Horner	Democratic	1933–1940
34		John H. Stelle	Democratic	January 4, 1937	October 6, 1940 Succeeded Horner
Office vacant: October 6, 1940 – January 13, 1941						John H. Stelle	Democratic	1940–1941
35		Hugh W. Cross	Republican	January 13, 1941	January 10, 1949	Dwight H. Green	Republican	1941–1949
36		Sherwood Dixon	Democratic	January 10, 1949	January 12, 1953	Adlai E. Stevenson II	Democratic	1949–1953
37		John William Chapman	Republican	January 12, 1953	January 9, 1961	William G. Stratton	Republican	1953–1961
38		Samuel H. Shapiro	Democratic	January 9, 1961	May 21, 1968 Succeeded Kerner	Otto Kerner, Jr.	Democratic	1961–1968
Office vacant: May 21, 1968 – January 13, 1969						Samuel H. Shapiro	Democratic	1968–1969
39		Paul Simon	Democratic	January 13, 1969	January 8, 1973	Richard Buell Ogilvie	Republican	1969–1973
40		Neil Hartigan	Democratic	January 8, 1973	January 10, 1977	Dan Walker	Democratic	1973–1977
41		Dave O'Neal	Republican	January 10, 1977	July 31, 1981 Resigned	James R. Thompson	Republican	1977–1991
Office vacant: July 31, 1981 – January 10, 1983
42		George H. Ryan	Republican	January 10, 1983	January 14, 1991
43		Bob Kustra	Republican	January 14, 1991	July 1, 1998 Resigned	James Edgar	Republican	1991–1999
Office vacant: July 1, 1998 – January 11, 1999
44		Corinne Wood	Republican	January 11, 1999	January 13, 2003	George H. Ryan	Republican	1999–2003
45		Pat Quinn	Democratic	January 13, 2003	January 29, 2009 Succeeded Blagojevich	Rod R. Blagojevich	Democratic	2003–2009
Office vacant: January 29, 2009 – January 10, 2011						Pat Quinn	Democratic	2009–2015
46		Sheila Simon	Democratic	January 10, 2011	January 12, 2015
47		Evelyn Sanguinetti	Republican	January 12, 2015	January 14, 2019	Bruce Rauner	Republican	2015–2019
48		Juliana Stratton	Democratic	January 14, 2019	Incumbent	J. B. Pritzker	Democratic	2019–present

See also

• List of Illinois state legislatures