AISWCD names Legislator of Year

Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton was honored with the award for Legislator of the Year this week (Tuesday July 16, 2024) during the Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts’ 2024 MAGIC of Conservation summer training conference and annual meeting in Springfield, Illinois.

Lt. Gov. Stratton brings her visionary leadership to more than a dozen councils, commissions, boards, and agencies as chair or executive liaison. These span the Illinois Council on Women and Girls; the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council; the Military Economic Development Committee; and the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council. Her portfolio also includes overseeing the administration’s Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative; chairing the board of the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew Program; and leading office initiatives that address the needs of Illinoisans—ranging from efforts to build a strong, diverse teacher pipeline, to helping create pathways to economic empowerment for women, to establishing the Ag Connects Us All Agricultural Equity and Food Insecurity Initiative. She leans on empathy and expertise to open doors and expand pathways uplifting communities statewide.

In addition to showcasing how Ag Connects Us All, Lt. Gov. Stratton is passionate about her service to the waters of Illinois. Notably, the Lieutenant Governor chairs the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council which advises the Governor and state agencies on ways to better coordinate and optimize funds affecting the Illinois River Watershed and rivers statewide. 

In collaboration with local communities and organizations, the Rivers of Illinois Coordinating Council works to address watershed and water resource concerns and to encourage strategies that protect, restore, and expand critical habitats, soil conservation, and water quality practices. It also encourages local communities to develop watershed management plans to address stormwater, erosion, flooding, sedimentation, and pollution problems.