A political action committee with ties to Gov. JB Pritzker launched a “seven-figure” ad campaign Friday backing his two-time running mate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, in her Democratic primary bid for U.S. Senate.

The first ad supporting Stratton’s candidacy comes six months after the top fundraiser in the March 17 primary race, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, hit the screens of televisions and other devices across Illinois with ubiquitous commercials paid through his own campaign fund.

The new 30-second PAC spot, which underscores Stratton’s close working relationship with Pritzker and incorporates several images of them together, is airing on broadcast TV, cable and digital platforms, according to Illinois Future PAC, which paid for the ad. Pritzker endorsed Stratton the day after she entered the race, and he, his wife, MK, and their two children all have contributed directly to her campaign.

“What will it take to lower costs in Illinois?” the ad’s narrator says. “You need the grit of growing up working class. That ‘working mom of four’ ability to get things done. The kind of person who worked with Gov. Pritzker to save health care for millions and protect abortion rights.”

The pro-Stratton ad drew a quick complaint from Krishnamoorthi’s campaign, which sent a letter to Chicago TV stations that were slated to air the ad, alerting them that the commercial did not include the required written disclaimer that it was not authorized by Stratton or her campaign.

The ad was paid for by Illinois Future PAC, a super political action committee led by former Pritzker deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks. Illinois Future, which formed 12 days before Stratton formally announced her candidacy for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, has yet to report raising any money.

Illinois Future spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh, who was Pritzker’s government press secretary and worked on his 2018 campaign for governor, declined to comment on any contributions from the governor, pointing to the upcoming Jan. 31 deadline for federal disclosures covering the end of 2025.

Pritzker campaign spokesman Alex Gough, another former press secretary for the governor, did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

In response to the Krishnamoorthi campaign’s complaint to TV stations, Abudayyeh said, “The disclaimer in the ad has been updated, and the advertisement will continue to run without interruption.”

Krishnamoorthi’s campaign, in a letter from attorney Michael Dorf, told stations the ad was “designed to mislead the public by failing to properly disclose its status as an Independent Expenditure by Illinois Future PAC, and its nonaffiliation with any candidate or any candidate’s committee.”

The letter, which warned stations that they had “an obligation to cease airing this advertisement immediately,” also took issue with the similarity between a logo used in the ad and one used by Juliana for Illinois, Stratton’s campaign committee.

“In conjunction, these two facts produce an advertisement designed to intentionally mislead the public into a believed official relationship between Juliana for Illinois and the Illinois Future PAC ad,” the letter says.

Illinois Future countered that Krishnamoorthi’s campaign was trying to distract from questions about its contributors, including some who hold contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement and have supported President Donald Trump.

“It is no surprise that congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi would prefer voters not hear about Juliana’s proven record of delivering results for the people of Illinois,” Abudayyeh said. “Nothing in the advertisement misrepresents that record.”

Stratton’s campaign plans to launch its own television ads in the final two months before the primary, spokeswoman Allison Janowski said Friday, but she declined to provide additional details.

As of Friday, the Illinois Future ad backing Stratton was slated to air on all three major network affiliates, as well as WGN-Ch. 9 and cable television, according to Federal Communications Commission records.

From July through September, the most recent period for which records are available, Krishnamoorthi’s campaign reported spending nearly $4.8 million on TV ads, more than double the total amount Stratton’s campaign had reported raising since launching in late April.

On Friday evening, Stratton’s campaign sent a fundraising email in the governor’s name, in which the billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir asks supporters to “chip in $3 today to help Juliana regain momentum.”

“Juliana is running a true grassroots campaign — no corporate PAC money — and that means every dollar we raise right now goes directly toward reaching voters, organizing on the ground, and making sure her message cuts through the noise,” Pritzker says in the email solicitation.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/16/juliana-stratton-senate-pritzker-pac-ad/