Agriculture drives Illinois’ economy, but the two major-party candidates vying for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat bring vastly different lived experiences and policy philosophies to farm country.
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, a South Side of Chicago native, has served seven years as the state’s second-in-command. She often describes herself as part of the “panini generation”—balancing motherhood with caregiving for her late mother, which first inspired her run for the state legislature.
“Ten years ago, when I was caring for my mother Velma during the final years of her battle with Alzheimer’s, my state representative voted with our then-governor to cut health care and services that seniors like my mother depended on,” Stratton says. “I knew my family and families around the entire state deserved better than that. They deserved someone who would stand up on their behalf and fight back.”
As the mother of an urban farmer, Stratton frames her ag platform around opening pathways for next-generation producers, lowering input and healthcare costs, and expanding domestic biofuels like year-round E15.
Her Republican opponent, Don Tracy, grounds his campaign in his downstate roots. Born to two “farm kids” in Mt. Sterling, a small community near Quincy, Tracy worked his way through his family’s food distribution business.
“As the oldest of 12 children, I worked from grade school through high school in the family warehouse, and then I drove a truck in college over the summers. I served as a traveling salesman for the company between college and law school and during law school for almost four and a half years before I eventually served as General Outside Counsel for over 40 years,” Tracy says.
The former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party and the Illinois Gaming Board, Tracy argues that downstate farm communities have been overlooked by Washington and Springfield alike. His platform focuses on curbing federal regulations like the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, updating the farm bill for inflation, and reversing rural depopulation.
We reached out to both major-party candidates to ask how they would navigate the farm bill, address rising farm costs and represent agriculture from Carbondale to Chicago.
The Pitch: Why Illinois Farmers Should Trust Them
What is your primary message to farmers, growers and ranchers, and why should they trust you to serve them?
Stratton: As the mother of a farmer, I’ve seen firsthand how much commitment it takes for young people to step into farm management and carry on that work, and how difficult it can be to understand what opportunities are available. I’ve led the state’s Ag Connects Us All program, helping young people to connect to careers in agriculture because we have to uplift the next generation of farmers and agriculture workers. Since I’ve had the privilege to serve the entire state for the past seven years, I’ve heard from farmers firsthand that they are facing unprecedented challenges, and that the chaos coming out of Washington, from tariffs to the war in Iran, is a threat to their livelihoods. I want to ensure that Illinois farmers have the steady leadership they need to plan, and that we bring down out of control import costs. I’m ready to take up that fight on day one.
Tracy: My opponent is a Democrat socialist, and most farmers are not socialists. Secondly, my opponent is a Chicago Democrat who rarely ventures into farm country. I understand farming. I understand the issues well for a “city kid” from Mount Sterling. I would be a far better advocate for farm interests in Washington D.C. than my Chicago city kid opponent.
Policy Priorities: Biofuels, Regulation, and the Farm Bill
What are your top 3 key agricultural policy positions?
Stratton: Right now, life is too expensive and working families are having to choose between feeding their families, paying their rent, and getting the care they need. That’s why I’m focused on policies that will uplift Illinois’ working and middle-class families by making life more affordable. Some of the key legislation I would work to advance includes: reducing the burden of healthcare costs for farmers and their families, supporting efforts to open new domestic markets for agricultural products by passing nationwide, year-round E15 sales, and supporting a five-year, bipartisan farm bill. Farmers need stability and the ability to plan. They need predictability and a strong safety net for unforeseen challenges. I will always fight to ensure they have what they need to thrive.
Tracy: First, year-round E-15 shouldn’t have to get waivers every year. That should be made year-round. It’s good for agriculture because it supports corn sales and should elevate corn crop prices. But it’s also domestic energy production, which is good for the U.S. Second, fully rescinding the Waters of the U.S. regulations. That was an example of extreme environmentalism. EPA regulation should be restricted to navigable waterways, not farm puddles. Third, having a five-year farm bill with inflation adjustments. We’re still operating on the 2012 farm bill without an inflation adjustment. It needs to be brought up to date. We shouldn’t have to go year to year on the farm bill. Farmers want certainty. We all do. Farmers are in business – big businesses. They need certainty just like all business people do. And a five-year farm bill would give them that certainty.
Change in Washington: New Farmers, Rural Revival and Taxes
What are two things you like to see change for American agriculture?
Stratton: If we want the next generation to choose farming, we have to make that path more accessible and more affordable. Illinois has created a model for that through the Ag Connects Us All program, which I lead as Lt. Governor. Ag Connects Us All creates a pipeline into the industry by promoting educational and career pathways for underrepresented groups. We must lower barriers to entry, expand access to credit that helps new farmers get established and scale up over time, and support thoughtful succession planning so family farms can stay in families. We should continue to fund conservation-based incentive programs that support farmers in their efforts to maintain and care for farmland so that high-quality land remains available for the next generation of farmers.
Trump’s reckless war with Iran is forcing our farmers to pick up the tab through rising diesel, fertilizer and other input costs. Illinois farmers shouldn’t be paying the price for Trump’s reckless war. I won’t give any supplemental funds to the war, and I will do everything in my power to support farmers through this exceedingly difficult moment.
Tracy: Although I wouldn’t have direct influence over this, I’d like to see the Illinois inheritance tax change. It’s a trap for the unwary and needs to change.
Downstate Illinois is being depopulated, and largely a result of agricultural mechanization. I would like to find some way that we can help rural America. I think that was one of the responsibilities of my opponent as lieutenant governor, but I don’t think she’s done a single thing for Main Street downstate. That will be one of my priorities to find a way to repopulate rural America, especially rural Illinois, and to restore some of those community amenities that will help repopulate that area.
Roots & Reality: Personal Connections to Farming
What is your favorite connection to or story about agriculture and farming?
Stratton: When my daughter decided she wanted to pursue urban farming and agriculture, I wasn’t sure how to support her. But she made a career out of farming, and it pushed me to learn more about the resources that Illinois farmers and the next generation of farmers need. It is why I am so passionate about making sure Illinoisans know what resources they have to pursue pathways into the state’s largest industry and how to sustain farming. Leading Ag Connects Us All has been my favorite way to pursue continued investment in our future farmers and provide a consistent commitment to strengthening Illinois farming.
Tracy: Growing up, we spent a couple weeks every summer at my grandparents’ farm. I learned how to break a horse on my uncle’s dairy farm where my dad grew up. I got to drive a tractor – and that was pretty exciting for a 14-year-old. My dad taught me how to hunt, fish and trap. I milked cows. Baling hay was a great experience, but I wouldn’t call it fun. I have many fond memories on the farm.
Across the Aisle: Finding Common Ground in D.C.
How do you/will you champion the ag producers in your constituency when faced with bi-partisan hurdles?
Stratton: The farm bill should not be partisan. It’s about ensuring that our farmers have what they need and that we can feed American families. But right now, SNAP is being held hostage by Republicans, putting both farmers and hungry families at risk. In Illinois, we’ve worked with the Illinois Farm Bureau to pioneer a farm to food bank program, supported with state funding. I want to expand that model nationally and prevent further cuts by the Trump Administration at a time when so many are struggling to put food on the table. At its core, this is about strengthening the relationship between the people who grow our food and the communities they serve. I will always be an advocate for a bipartisan farm bill and want us to return to that as a shared commitment.
Tracy: I have been settling lawsuits for almost 50 years now as a lawyer with adverse parties and adverse representatives on each side. You must understand your opponent’s position as well, or better than they do. You need to respect that position, you need to respect them, and you need to use every bit of leverage that you have and negotiate trustworthy and in good faith. Recruit the people that will be helped most by the position you are advancing to bring in all the force and leverage that they can bring to bear to help prevail in the negotiation. I also hope to establish a good relationship with all the Democrats on the other side of the aisle. I’ve worked with lawyers on the other side that were very difficult to deal with, and I’ve always tried to maintain good relationships so relationship problems do not interfere with the negotiation.
