As she vies to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is accepting a number of campaign contributions from lobbyists representing special interests, records show.
Some of the lobbyists work for firms that lobby Illinois’ state government, overseen by her political ally and benefactor, Gov. JB Pritzker. Others work for firms that lobby Congress and other arms of the federal government.
Much of that money has come since Stratton was endorsed by the campaign reform organization End Citizens United last November after the organization lauded Stratton for “refusing corporate PAC donations and pledging to crack down on dark money in politics.”
The motivations for the lobbyist donations to Stratton, a Democrat facing off against Republican Don Tracy in the Nov. 3 general election, were not always clear. But the lobbyists or their firms represent clients at the state and federal levels over subjects that include technology, education, energy and finance, records show.
Tracy has gotten just a fraction of the contributions Stratton has received — overall, and from lobbyists, according to an analysis of the Don Tracy for Illinois account.
John Millner, a lobbyist for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office, as well as several police groups, gave Tracy’s campaign fund $260 earlier this year, according to Federal Election Commission records. A Carol Stream resident, Millner is a former cop and legislator.
The Stratton donors include employees of Mercury Public Affairs, a bi-partisan firm that helps clients with everything from crisis management and political consulting to “grassroots coalition building” and lobbying, according to its web site.
The company includes former U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.). President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, a Republican, was once a Mercury leader.
There are at least seven Mercury lobbyists in Illinois, according to state disclosure records.
They include Bustos and her son Nicholas Bustos, who gave Stratton’s Juliana for Illinois campaign $1,000 in a contribution dated in June, FEC records show. He gave another $1,000 that same month to the Juliana Victory Fund, another political account benefitting Stratton, FEC records show.
Mercury hosted a fundraiser for Stratton in Washington earlier this year, with Cheri Bustos explaining: “We’re motivated by good people running for office, and that leads us to give.”
A Stratton spokeswoman said: “Juliana will always put the people of Illinois over corporate special interests.”
“Juliana is proud to have the support of tens of thousands of individual donors to her campaign, who make up the broad grassroots coalition who have powered her campaign since day one.”
Two other Mercury lobbyists in Illinois, Zach Koutsky and William Burns, each donated $2,000 in June, the records show. Jon Pyatt, managing director of Mercury’s Illinois operations, isn’t listed as an Illinois lobbyist but has been listed as a federal lobbyist. He also gave each Stratton fund $1,000 in June.
Mercury’s Illinois lobbying clients have included Illinois State University, the University of Chicago Medical Center and the Illinois Nurses Association, according to disclosure records maintained by the Illinois secretary of state’s office.
Congressional disclosure records show Mercury’s federal lobbying clients have included: the U.S. Cannabis Council, which advocates for the legalized cannabis industry; Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP, a law firm specializing in debt collection, including for City Hall; Airbnb; State Farm; Bank of America; and Flock Safety, whose license plate-reading cameras are causing controversy in the Chicago area and around the country.
People affiliated with two other companies that have been registered as lobbyists for Flock in Illinois and Washington, D.C. — Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies and BGR Government Affairs — also gave campaign money to Stratton, records show.
Among Mercury’s local political clients: Friends of Brandon Johnson, which paid the company more than $45,000 since 2024 for “fundraising consulting,” according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Members of another lobbying company with operations in Illinois and Washington, Cornerstone Government Affairs, also gave campaign money to Stratton.
Michael Smith, a managing principal of Cornerstone, gave two contributions to Stratton in 2025 totaling $3,500 and another $2,500 this spring, records show. His online biography says he “has spent more than two decades advising a broad array of sovereign nations, Fortune 500 companies, tribal governments and leading non-profits on a wide range of issues before the federal government.”
Two other Cornerstone lobbyists also donated to her this year, including $1,000 in June.
The company’s federal lobbying clients have included: AbbVie Inc., a pharmaceutical maker based in the north suburbs; the American Gaming Association, a casino industry trade group; ExxonMobil; NASCAR; Target; and United Airlines, records show.
Cornerstone has six Illinois lobbyists, including Will Cousineau, a former aide to ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) who testified at Madigan’s corruption trial as a government witness and has deep ties to Madigan’s successor, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside).
Local lobbying clients have included the Illinois Health & Hospital Association and the Illinois Road & Transportation Builders Association, state records show.
Among the other Stratton donors connected to lobbying firms:
- Heather Podesta, CEO of Invariant, gave Stratton $2,000 in June, with several other members of the company also donating. Invariant’s federal clients have included: the computer maker Apple; Aramark, which provides large-scale food and janitorial services; and the fast-food giant McDonald’s, records show.
- Oscar Ramirez, of Fulcrum Public Affairs, gave a total of $6,500 in 2026 and 2025, records show. Among Fulcrum’s federal clients: Juul Labs, which makes e-cigarettes; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents business interests.
- Former Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin — whose lobbying clients at the state level include the Chicago Teachers Union, the Chicago Bar Association and Amazon.com Services LLC — made contributions in April totaling $4,000 to the two funds supporting Stratton.
Stratton has raised more than $5 million since the beginning of last year, while Tracy’s fund has reported less than $400,000.