The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their running mates when filing for office and appear on the primary election ballot together. Under the Illinois Constitution, when the governor of Illinois becomes unable to discharge the duties of that office, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor. If the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. Pat Quinn was the most recent lieutenant to rise to governor on the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich in 2009. The Lieutenant Governor oversees various state commissions under Illinois statutes. Historically, the lieutenant governor has been from either the Democratic Party or Republican Party. The current lieutenant governor is Democrat Juliana Stratton.

Prior to the 1970 Constitution, governors and lieutenant governors were separately elected. The 1970 Constitution introduced joint elections for governor and lieutenant governor, though the candidates were nominated in separate primaries. Following the 1986 and 2010 elections, in which the Democratic nominees for Governor were forced to run with extreme or disfavored lieutenant-gubernatorial nominees, the Illinois General Assembly abolished the separate-primary requirement. The 2014 gubernatorial election was the first one to take place in which gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates ran on the same ticket in the primary election.

Duties The lieutenant governor of Illinois handles a variety of responsibilities which have been delegated to the office via statute. These duties include serving as Chairman of the Governor's Rural Affairs Council, Chairman of Rural Bond Bank of Illinois, head of the Illinois Main Street Program, and Chairman of the Illinois River Coordinating Council.

In addition to these duties, the lieutenant governor can take on other duties as assigned by the governor or initiate duties of his or her own. An example of this is work by former Lt. Gov. Corrine Wood on women's health issues. The lieutenant governor also serves as a surrogate speaker for the governor around the state and as a representative for state government. The lieutenant governor is a member of the National Lieutenant Governors Association.

Prior to the adoption of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, the lieutenant governor also served as the president of the Senate. Losing this position made the lieutenant governor's job less significant, and contributed to the "boredom" cited by Jim Thompson's first lieutenant governor, Dave O'Neal, who resigned from the office in 1981.

Under the Illinois state Constitution Article V section 7. "If the Lieutenant Governor fails to qualify or if his office becomes vacant, it shall remain vacant until the end of the term." Illinois thus had no lieutenant governor during the two-year interim between Pat Quinn's elevation to the governor's office upon Rod Blagojevich's impeachment conviction, and Sheila Simon's election and inauguration as lieutenant governor.

Like the governor, the lieutenant governor has suites of offices in both Springfield and Chicago.

Qualifications The lieutenant governor of Illinois serves four-year terms. Inauguration takes place on the second Monday in January following a gubernatorial election. A lieutenant governor is

required to be at least twenty-five years old, required to be a United States citizen, required to have been a resident of Illinois for the three years previous to election, barred from other government positions during the term.

List of lieutenant governors of Illinois On three occasions, prior to a 1970 change to the state constitution, the lieutenant governor was of a different political party from the governor. In each instance a Democratic lieutenant governor served under a Republican governor. After the lieutenant governor comes the attorney general.

#ImageLt. governorPartyCommission dateEnd dateGovernorPartyTerm1Pierre MenardDemocratic-RepublicanOctober 6, 1818December 5, 1822Shadrach BondDemocratic-Republican1818–18222Adolphus HubbardDemocratic-RepublicanDecember 5, 1822December 6, 1826Edward ColesDemocratic-Republican1822–18263William KinneyDemocraticDecember 6, 1826December 9, 1830Ninian EdwardsDemocratic-Republican1826–18304Zadok CaseyDemocraticDecember 9, 1830March 1, 1833(resigned)John ReynoldsDemocratic1830–18345William Lee D. EwingDemocraticMarch 1, 1833December 5, 1834(succeeded Reynolds)Office vacant: November 17 – December 5, 1834William Lee D. EwingDemocratic18346Alexander JenkinsDemocraticDecember 5, 1834December 9, 1836(resigned)Joseph DuncanDemocratic1834–18387William H. DavidsonDemocraticDecember 9, 1836(acting)December 7, 18388Stinson AndersonDemocraticDecember 7, 1838December 8, 1842Thomas CarlinDemocratic1838–18429John MooreDemocraticDecember 8, 1842December 9, 1846Thomas FordDemocratic1842–184610Joseph WellsDemocraticDecember 9, 1846January 8, 1849Augustus C. FrenchDemocratic1846–185311William McMurtryDemocraticJanuary 8, 1849January 10, 185312Gustavus KoernerDemocraticJanuary 10, 1853January 12, 1857Joel Aldrich MattesonDemocratic1853–185713John WoodRepublicanJanuary 12, 1857March 20, 1860William Henry BissellRepublican1857–186014Thomas MarshallDemocraticJanuary 7, 1861January 14, 1861John WoodRepublican1860–186115Francis HoffmannRepublicanJanuary 14, 1861January 16, 1865Richard YatesRepublican1861–186516William BrossRepublicanJanuary 16, 1865January 11, 1869Richard J. OglesbyRepublican1865–186917John DoughertyRepublicanJanuary 11, 1869January 13, 1873John M. PalmerRepublican1869–187318John Lourie BeveridgeRepublicanJanuary 13, 1873January 23, 1873(succeeded Oglesby)Richard J. OglesbyRepublican187319John EarlyRepublicanJanuary 23, 1873(acting)January 8, 1875 John Lourie BeveridgeRepublican 1873–187720Archibald GlennDemocraticJanuary 8, 1875(acting)January 8, 187721Andrew ShumanRepublicanJanuary 8, 1877January 10, 1881Shelby M. CullomRepublican1877–188322John Marshall HamiltonRepublicanJanuary 10, 1881February 6, 1883(succeeded Cullom)23William J. CampbellRepublicanFebruary 6, 1883 ActingJanuary 30, 1885John Marshall HamiltonRepublican1883–188524John SmithRepublicanJanuary 30, 1885January 14, 1889Richard J. OglesbyRepublican1885–188925Lyman RayRepublicanJanuary 14, 1889January 10, 1893Joseph W. FiferRepublican1889–189326Joseph B. GillDemocraticJanuary 10, 1893January 11, 1897John Peter AltgeldDemocratic1893–189727William NorthcottRepublicanJanuary 11, 1897January 9, 1905John R. TannerRepublican1897–1901Richard YatesRepublican1901–190528Lawrence ShermanRepublicanJanuary 9, 1905January 18, 1909Charles S. DeneenRepublican1905–191329John G. OglesbyRepublicanJanuary 18, 1909February 3, 191330Barratt O'HaraDemocraticFebruary 3, 1913January 8, 1917Edward F. DunneDemocratic1913–191731John G. OglesbyRepublicanJanuary 8, 1917January 10, 1921Frank O. LowdenRepublican1917–192132Fred E. SterlingRepublicanJanuary 10, 1921January 9, 1933Len SmallRepublican1921–1929Louis L. EmmersonRepublican1929–193333Thomas DonovanDemocraticJanuary 9, 1933January 4, 1937Henry HornerDemocratic1933–194034John H. StelleDemocraticJanuary 4, 1937October 6, 1940(succeeded Horner)Office vacant: October 6, 1940 – January 13, 1941John H. StelleDemocratic1940–194135Hugh W. CrossRepublicanJanuary 13, 1941January 10, 1949Dwight H. GreenRepublican1941–194936Sherwood DixonDemocraticJanuary 10, 1949January 12, 1953Adlai Stevenson IIDemocratic1949–195337John William ChapmanRepublicanJanuary 12, 1953January 9, 1961William StrattonRepublican1953–196138Samuel ShapiroDemocraticJanuary 9, 1961May 21, 1968(succeeded Kerner)Otto Kerner Jr.Democratic1961–1968Office vacant: May 21, 1968 – January 13, 1969Samuel ShapiroDemocratic1968–196939Paul SimonDemocraticJanuary 13, 1969January 8, 1973Richard B. OgilvieRepublican1969–197340Neil HartiganDemocraticJanuary 8, 1973January 10, 1977Dan WalkerDemocratic1973–197741Dave O'NealRepublicanJanuary 10, 1977July 31, 1981(resigned)Jim ThompsonRepublican1977–1991Office vacant: July 31, 1981 – January 10, 198342George RyanRepublicanJanuary 10, 1983January 14, 199143Bob KustraRepublicanJanuary 14, 1991July 1, 1998(resigned)Jim EdgarRepublican1991–1999Office vacant: July 1, 1998 – January 11, 199944 Corinne WoodRepublicanJanuary 11, 1999January 13, 2003George RyanRepublican1999–200345Pat QuinnDemocraticJanuary 13, 2003January 29, 2009(succeeded Blagojevich)Rod BlagojevichDemocratic2003–2009Office vacant: January 29, 2009 – January 10, 2011Pat QuinnDemocratic2009–201546Sheila SimonDemocraticJanuary 10, 2011January 12, 201547Evelyn SanguinettiRepublicanJanuary 12, 2015January 14, 2019Bruce RaunerRepublican2015–201948Juliana StrattonDemocraticJanuary 14, 2019IncumbentJ. B. PritzkerDemocratic2019–present

See also List of Illinois state legislatures

References

External links

Official website Roster of elected officials, Illinois 2005-2006 Blue Book Illinois 2005-2006 Blue Book, Illinois Governor mini-bios