North Cook News

Manipulating district boundaries for political gain is unacceptable to Jillian Bernas.

Born and raised in Schaumburg, the Republican candidate in the 56th House District who lost to Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) last year told the North Cook News that drawing maps to the governing party’s advantage predetermines the outcomes of elections and does not represent the people as should happen in a democracy.

“Gerrymandering districts leads to politicians selecting their districts instead of voters selecting their leaders,” Bernas said.

Jillian Bernas, 56th District candidate

In fact, 65 lawmakers across eight states have signed an amicus curiae brief in a recent gerrymandering case before the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of ending the practice.

Bernas, an international relations manager and former teacher, garnered 44.7 percent of the vote in 2016 against Mussman in District 56, which includes Schaumburg, Hanover Park, Roselle and Elk Grove Village. Bernas blames 46-year House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) for what she says is a detrimental district mapping that has controlled votes for far too long.

“In Illinois, Michael Madigan has drawn district maps four consecutive times, learning each time how to better organize voters to his advantage,” Bernas said. “This is a lot of power concentrated in the hands of one individual who then hand-selects state representatives to do his bidding, like in the case of my opponent.”

And it’s not just about one man’s political power, she said.

“Another side effect of gerrymandering in Illinois is dysfunction in Springfield,” Bernas said. “Since Madigan’s governing party can guarantee a majority through their mapping efforts, they make sure there is little representation in Springfield to fight against their self-interests. They are free to line their pockets at the expense of Illinois families.”

Bernas said a fair legislative map-making process is possible. 

“They should appoint a nonpartisan entity that is barred from considering voter registration data, officeholders’ addresses and previous election results when determining maps,” Bernas said. “Iowa is a good example of a state that has strong, fair map legislation, which has resulted in a majority of its congressional districts being competitive.”

The candidate said given the opportunity, she will see to it that gerrymandering in Illinois ends.

“I support the efforts of fair map advocates and will support fair map legislation when serving my district in Springfield,” Bernas said.