Jillian Bernas said the fourth consecutive year of population decline shows the dire need for policy reform.
Responding to the recent Illinois Policy report “Illinois Loses Title of the 5th Largest State to Pennsylvania,” which revealed Census Bureau data showing a decline of 33,700 people from 2016 to 2017, the Republican House candidate said the staggering statistics are similar to those in her hometown of Schaumburg and in the surrounding area.
“The numbers show that millennials are leading Illinois’ out-migration and that neighboring states are the benefactors of this out-migration,” Bernas, who garnered 44.7 percent of the vote in an unsuccessful run against Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) in 2016, said. “Therefore, I reject the theory that this is just retirees leaving for warmer weather. These are young families looking to build a life in Illinois and being pushed out.”
Calling the exodus the “worst decline of any state in the U.S. in raw terms,” with nearly 643,000 leaving Illinois since 2010, the Illinois Policy report said “that is like the entire population of the city of Peoria up and leaving.”
The international relations manager seeking to serve the 56th District, which includes Schaumburg, Hanover Park, Roselle and Elk Grove Village, said she is she is running for state representative because she and her fiance grew up in Illinois and want to continue to call the state home.
“We could live almost anywhere, but we want to stay and fight to keep families like ours in this state,” Bernas said. “Every day, as I walk door to door in my community, there are people that tell me about their exit strategy. They usually cite the high burden of taxes as their number one reason for needing to leave.”
Though the future looks bleak, Bernas is confident hope is on the horizon.
“Although Illinois is in a very bad place financially, there are policies that can be enacted to change course,” Bernas said. “However, this will take new, independent leaders that can counteract career politicians with a vested self-interest in keeping Illinois the way it is.”
She stressed that real change is not just wishful thinking.
“We have neighboring states that have enacted policies that now make them destination states for Illinois citizens,” Bernas said. “New leadership can turn the tide on this pattern of out-migration.”
If elected, Bernas will do all she can to end the exodus, she said.
“I am going to Springfield to work on policies to keep families in Illinois,” Bernas said. “This starts by working to repeal the 32-percent increase on income taxes that career politicians passed this past summer, supporting a 1-percent cap on property taxes with significant reforms to help families and businesses, and holding elected officials accountable to serving the people of Illinois.”
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