North Cook News

Despite Shaumburg Republican Jillian Bernas' loss to incumbent Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) for the 56th District House of Representative seat, she has not lost her optimism and drive to serve her community.

“I am actually very proud of the campaign,” Bernas recently told North Cook News. “There were a lot of small success that were celebrated while family, friends and volunteers were working hard towards victory. We were in a really good place."

Bernas also explained that her campaign had the endorsements of two important local newspapers, the Daily Herald and the Chicago Tribune, and she and her volunteers went to approximately 60,000 homes telling constituents about her new message of leadership.

“I moved back home to be closer to my family about five years ago and quickly had seen things were changing and people were frustrated. Lots of businesses were concerned,” Bernas said. “Friends and family were moving out of the state. I knew I needed to get to work in my community and that is exactly what I did. I made it clear that I was running to bring much needed leadership to Springfield.”

Bernas was happy to see the election create more balance with the people voting out the Democratic supermajority.

“I feel in my small way that I was able to contribute to that, even though it did not happen in my district,” Bernas said. “I felt that there was a certain understanding that the super majority needed to be eliminated in order for there to be a little bit more balance in Springfield.”

Despite her loss, Bernas is happy to see others benefit from the time and effort they put into campaigns similar to hers.

“I am so happy for the people who have won those races and they’ve worked countless hours and have dedicated so much time just like my campaign did,” Bernas said. “I am feeling very proud of them. And I think there will be more balance in Springfield now that there is no longer a super majority. So hopefully the party leadership will see that people are looking for more compromise without a super majority pushback.”

Bernas hasn’t given the future too much thought yet, but she knows she will still serve the community.

“I want to stay active in my community, obviously and I still plan to serve as a trustee on the Schaumburg library board and still continue to contribute to my community in those small ways,” Bernas said. “I also want to make sure current leadership in my district is listening to our families and I just would ask that (Mussman) show true leadership and stand up to her party leadership when it is in the best interest of our community.”

Bernas is confident her campaign made a difference, even if she was not elected.

“I am very happy and very proud with the campaign we ran,” Bernas said. “It may sound silly, but we feel very fulfilled and happy about the campaign, even though we fell short.”