Jillian Rose Bernas: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: SchaumburgWebsite: www.votejillian.comTwitter: @jillianbernasFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillianRoseBernas/Office sought: 56th District Representative Age: 35Family: My husband Angel and I just got married on January 20, 2018. We are both from Illinois and our families live here. Angel and I made the decision to run for State Representative so that families like ours can stay in Illinois and be close to loved ones. I am going to do this by working to repeal the 32% increase on income tax, supporting a 1% cap on property taxes returning home values to families, and holding elected officials accountable to the families in their districts.Occupation: International Relations ManagerEducation: Bachelor of Arts - Education/Spanish, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame Master of Education, University of Notre Dame Master of Public Policy, Universidad de Chile Master of Arts in Public Policy, University of ChicagoCivic involvement: Schaumburg Township District Library Trustee, Township of Schaumburg Mental Health Committee Member, Church of the Holy Spirit ESL Teacher, Schaumburg Township Historical Society Member, Rotary Club of Schaumburg/Hoffman Estates Member, WINGS volunteer, Harper College Fishing Well Scholarship MentorElected offices held: Schaumburg Township District Library TrusteeQuestions Answers What needs to be done structurally to make the legislature more effective? Will you vote for your current legislative leader? What is your position on term limits in general and for legislative leaders specifically?Elected officials should be citizen leaders that bring their skills to the office to solve problems, not career politicians that amass power and money over their years in office. I am a former teacher and a public policy expert now working as an International Relations Manager at a large medical association. The work I do to improve patient outcomes around the world is important and fulfilling. I also enjoy using analysis to improve public policy. I intend to continue and/or return to my work and interests after serving my community in Springfield. My opponent Michelle Mussman says she supports terms limits, but has voted every time to keep Michael Madigan as Speaker, who has been in office longer than I have been alive. She is also running for her fifth term so we know where she stands on term limits. My primary opponent Char Kegarise does not support term limits. She has been in office since I was in elementary school decades ago. Similar to Mussman, she has to follow the current legislative leader because he is financing her campaign. I am running to be an independent voice for my district. I will never vote for Madigan and I am looking for a legislative leader that can earn my support. We need term limits because career politicians in Springfield like Madigan and Mussman are working against us. I support legislation for term limits so that we can elect representation that works for us.On budgeting, what should be done to ensure that the state does not again go through a period of time without a budget in place? What will you do as a legislator to help ensure that the spending priorities you espouse during your campaign are reflected in the budget?The inability to get a balanced budget passed is because career politicians in Illinois do not understand the problem of scarcity of resources and how it impacts their own self-interests. The first lesson in economics is that we are never going to have enough resources to do everything we want to do no matter how badly we want to do them. Many elected officials in Illinois do not understand this or don't care and instead of prioritizing those that are in most need they prioritize all of their self-interests that help them get re-elected. Then they lament that we cannot possibly cut programs that serve the most vulnerable. This happens with our current State Representative Michelle Mussman. I intend to go to Springfield to prioritize our needs over my opponent's self-interests. Moving forward the budget needs to be balanced without new sources of revenue. Right now we are losing population for the fourth consecutive year in a row. I walk door to door and talk with families that tell me their exit strategies and attribute it to overwhelmingly high taxes. Given Illinois has the highest tax burden in the nation I do not see how we can ask any more of our families and businesses. I am running for State Representative to keep families in our state and I will do this by working to repeal the 32% increase in income taxes and support a 1% cap on property taxes along with other substantive reforms.Should the legislature approve ballot initiatives either for a constitutional amendment on legislative redistricting or one on term limits? If so, how would you recommend the issues be structure? If not, why not?Part of the reason that Speaker Madigan has concentrated his power over the years is because he controls how voting districts are mapped. He creates districts that concentrate or disperse voters to guarantee election outcomes for his selected candidates. This is another example of the government working against us. I will support legislation for fair maps and term limits so that our elected officials work for us.What approach do you support in fixing public employee pension systems?The pension crisis is a looming problem in Illinois and yet no one is taking any action. The longer we wait on this issue, the more debt accrues. Pension reform is needed immediately. The legislature can start by providing a 401k or 403b defined contribution plan for our new state workers so that future pension liabilities are a known quantity. Additionally, legislators need to call into question so-called Ãâ#128;™Cadillac PensionsÃâ#128;œ for administrators approved by local school districts. My primary opponent Char Kegarise has continually approved Ãâ#128;™Cadillac PensionsÃâ#128;œ at a time when taxpayers are being taxed at some of the highest rate in the nation. This amounts to multi-million dollar payouts that our hard working families are expected to cover. Finally, legislators need to limit the total number of pensions the public sector gives out to any one individual. People rely on their pensions and I am worried one day they will go to cash their checks and the money will not be there. I want to see reforms now so that this day never comes.To what extent do you support or oppose legalization of marijuana for recreational use?The act permitting the usage of marijuana as a treatment for certain illnesses went into effect January 1, 2014 and is effective until July 1, 2020. There are many adults and children throughout the state that benefit from the passage of this bill to lessen the impact of their illness on their everyday lives. Unfortunately, my opponent Michelle Mussman did not see it this way when the legislation was signed and she voted no. As a state legislator I would be very interested in seeing the results of the medical cannabis pilot program act over the 6 years since its inception to see how to make it better. I would not advocate for the legalization of recreational marijuana.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Property taxes have skyrocketed because it does not matter what families can pay, but how much local government entities are permitted to raise taxes. Currently, property taxes have grown 6 times faster than household incomes in Illinois according to U.S. Census Bureau data. We need a cap on property taxes as a percentage of home value so that property tax is a function of a family's return on their most important investment not an arbitrary amount that continues to grow 5% regardless of a family's ability to pay. Just freezing property taxes doesn't bring relief to families leaving the state weighed down by the highest tax burden in the nation. Real reform like a 1% property tax cap is needed and I am going to Springfield to work on this important reform. Additionally, providing a quality education for all students in our state is important to me. A child's education should not be limited by their zip code or parents' ability to pay and money should follow our students to ensure their education is being funded properly, not prop up failing or poorly-managed schools. I was frustrated with the political games lawmakers played with the education funding reform bill last year, but support the opportunity scholarships included in the bill. As a former educator, I know that children learn in many different ways and in many different settings. As a legislator in Springfield, I will take the many lessons learned as a teacher and apply them to my work.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Juli Langelund of Minuteman Press in Hoffman Estates, a successful business women in our community that is very generous with her time and resources.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?My parents taught me through their actions that everyone is valuable.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have continued studying Mathematics after two semesters of Calculus for a minor. Mathematics is such a valuable skill in our job market.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I looked forward to Spanish class every day. I am able to meet so many more people in this world because of it.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Channel your talents to be of service to others and there you will find true happiness.