North Cook News

Jillian Bernas will not let defeat stop her.

The international relations manager and Republican is running again for the 56th District seat of incumbent Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg), who beat her in 2016.

“My upbringing also encouraged service to others," Bernas told the North Cook News. "While I never was involved in politics until I moved back home five years ago, I was always interested in current events and service to community, which lends itself to being a strong community leader. After about six years of teaching, I wanted to continue serving others and completed a master's in public policy at the University of Chicago. I learned about the importance of having strong political leaders to be advocates for good policy.”

Jillian Bernas

Born and raised in Schaumburg, Bernas said her desire to run for office grew out of seeing the demise of her district.

“When I moved back, I saw that things had definitely changed for the worse in my home state," she said. "There are entrenched career politicians in our state that are purely motivated by self-interest instead of setting good policy to serve the families. I knew that I needed to combine my interest in current events, service and knowledge of policy to serve my community now more than ever.”

If elected, Bernas said her first target would be taxes.

“Today, we pay the highest property taxes in the nation, have the worst debt load, and after the 32 percent tax hike passed over the summer, families in our communities will pay higher taxes,” she said. “Schaumburg will pay $687 to $963, Elk Grove Village will pay $704, Hanover Park will pay $490, Hoffman Estates will pay $615 and Roselle will pay $775.”

Bernas has plans for improvement.

“In order to reduce the tax burden on families, I will work on a repeal of the 32 percent income tax increase or a property tax cap while proposing reforms that balance the budget instead of doing this on the backs of taxpayers,” she said.

She also is determined to see local job growth.

“Our small- and medium-sized companies account for about 50 percent of jobs in our state,” Bernas said. “I will work to promote pro-growth policies and policy reforms that help small- and medium-size employers grow their companies and in turn provide more opportunities for workers in Illinois.”

The third enemy in her sights is political terms without end.

“I will work to prioritize the most vulnerable citizens instead of interest groups when balancing the budget,” she said. “And I will introduce reforms that limit career politicians that profit off of the system, such as term limits and independent maps.”