Mussman keeps lead over Bernas in 56th District

Democratic state Rep. Michelle Mussman maintained a significant lead over Republican challenger Jillian Bernas in their race for the 56th District House seat late Tuesday with nearly all precincts counted.

With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Mussman's 21,473 votes gave her 55.3 percent of the total over Bernas' 17,351 votes.

Bernas, a Schaumburg Township District Library trustee, was challenging fellow Schaumburg resident Mussman's bid for a fourth term in the Illinois House.

Though the two disagreed on several issues, the central theme of Bernas' campaign was stopping longtime Speaker Michael Madigan's control of the state House.

Mussman described herself as a responsible, independent representative of a conservative district, but Bernas argued that a truly independent voice could come only from outside Madigan's party.

The candidates also staked out opposing positions on whether the Prevailing Wage Act - which sets the amount contractors must pay their employees on public projects - and workers' compensation laws should be reformed for the purpose of lowering property taxes.

Bernas believes reforming those regulations would give local governments more control over their expenses, and thus less reason to raise taxes.

Mussman said she favors controlling property taxes, but doesn't support altering the prevailing wage and workers' compensation regulations.