Jillian Bernas: Candidate profile
Bio:
Name: Jillian Bernas
City: Schaumburg
Website: www.votejillian.com
Twitter: @jillianbernas
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillianRoseBernas/
Office sought: Illinois House District 56
Party: Republican
Age: 36
Family: Husband Angel Garcia
Occupation: International relations manager
Education: Bachelor of Arts, 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 Chicago
Civic involvement: Township of Schaumburg Mental Health Committee Member (2016 – present), Secretary (2018- present) Rotary Club Members Schaumburg – Hoffman Estates Rotary Club (2016-2018), Schaumburg AM (2018 – present) ESL Teacher Church of the Holy Spirit (2015- present) Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association Member (2017- present) Schaumburg Historical Society Member (2016- present) Volunteer WINGS (2016- present)
Elected offices held: Schaumburg Township District Library Trustee (2015 – present)
Questions & Answers
Would you vote to approve a graduated income tax? If so, what qualifiers would you impose and where would you set the brackets? What would the top tax rate be?
No, I do not support a graduated income tax and I encourage everyone to see past the politicians like my opponent Michelle Mussman that tell you this is a tax on the wealthy. This is a tax on everybody. There are proposals in the General Assembly right now that would increase taxes on households with as little as $15,000 in income. We need to push back against this tax and the people that support it. A graduated income tax will further our population loss. According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, this tax would result in the loss of 20,000 jobs, an additional net loss of 43,000 people added to the current net loss of 100,000 people per year, and a loss of $1.9 billion over the next four years. My focus as State Representative will be on reforming our failing systems to provide economic growth that leads to an improved qualities of life for families, better opportunities for job seekers, and fully funded core government services for our neighbors.
How big a problem is the level of property taxation in Illinois? If you view it as a problem, what should be done about it?
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. Everyone feels the impact of this problem. It means a bigger monthly payment in taxes than the mortgage for families in their first home. It means retirees on a fixed income cannot stay in their home. It means small businesses whose costs eat away at their bottom line leave for other states. It means renters cannot find affordable housing. 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 overall 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.
What is your evaluation of Gov. Rauner's job performance? Please specify what you view as its highs and lows.
Speaker Michael Madigan and the corrupt system in Springfield is not going to go away quietly. They have built up a system to serve them and anything that threatens that will face retaliation. When Governor Bruce Rauner took office, he had a mandate to reform the status quo. Madigan and Mussman worked to create division between Rauner and lawmakers
working towards reform. I was disappointed when 15 members of the House broke ranks and voted for a 32% tax increase. I believe that this was a result of a leadership problem. Madigan used public opinion to force their hand and continued to create division that Rauner let happen. I will face a very similar situation in Springfield upon my election if we do not change nine seats to vote Madigan out of power. Mussman tells the voters of my district that she cannot get anything done, even though she is the person that votes Madigan into office. However, I am going to get to work. I want to do more to educate the public and use public opinion to move policy. When the beverage tax became legislation, public opinion quickly forced Madigan to pull the plug on Preckwinkle's soda tax. This same approach can be used to disrupt Madigan's plans for a graduated income tax, a mileage tax, a retirement taxes, and any other tax he plans to use against us. Mussman will wait to be told what to do. I will act in the best interests of my district.
What is your evaluation of Speaker Michael Madigan's (President John Cullerton's) job performance? If you voted for him for speaker (president) in the last legislative session, please explain your vote.
I will not vote for Michael Madigan for Speaker and give him the power to enrich himself on the backs of Illinois families. He gets his power from the state representatives that elect him. Michelle Mussman was sent to Springfield with the promise of fighting the corruption in Springfield. Now she has become a part of it voting for Madigan every time and doing his bidding. That is because he has handed her close to one million dollars, as reported to the Illinois Board of Elections. I am running for State Representative because of the failed leadership I have seen in Springfield. Leaders like Mussman and Madigan have no accountability to the families of this state. We see that in the highest tax burden in the nation and home values that fall while taxes increase and families move out. They rule Springfield with little integrity passing unbalanced budgets off as balanced. In 2018, Mussman and Madigan voted for a budget that was $1.2 billion out of budget (HB 109), according to the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, and then she lied to voters in a June 12 letter saying it was balanced. They do not stand on principle. Together Mussman and Madigan have no regard for sexual harassment claims brought against legislators and their staff and let the position to investigate these claims, Inspector General, go vacant for years while victims wait for justice. It is time to retire them both by voting new leaders into office.
Should there be term limits for legislative leaders? If so, what would you do to make that happen? What other systemic changes should be made to strengthen the voice of individual legislators, limit the control of legislative leaders, encourage bipartisanship?
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. There should most definitely be terms limits for all legislators. I would also support legislation that would prevent lawmakers from serving as property taxes attorneys while in office. Additionally, I do not think that lawmakers should have full time benefits for part-time work. That is why I would not accept a pension and would support ending legislator pensions. Other legislation that I would support to limit legislative leaders and encourage bipartisanship is redistricting reform and appointing an independent Inspector General to oversee legislative corruption.
My opponent Michelle Mussman says she supports terms limits, but has voted every time to keep Michael Madigan as Speaker on January 12, 2011; January 9, 2013; January 13, 2015, January 11, 2017. She is also running for her fifth term and will collect a lucrative pension, so she will do whatever it takes to maintain that power. 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.
How concerned should we be about Illinois' population loss? What needs to be done to reverse the trend?
Last year, our state lost 115,000 people. This is more than any other state and continues a four-year downward trend. Children will now learn that we are the sixth largest state in population dropping one position and we will probably lose one congressional seat, maybe two. This is not a blip in the data. These numbers buck national trends and this is a problem that is affecting millennials, young professional families and retirees alike. I walk door-to-door and regularly talk to families that have an exit strategy. My husband and I have attended three going away parties this summer for friends. In fact, a large part of the reason I am running is to keep families like mine in this state. I grew up in Schaumburg and my husband is from the Southside of Chicago. We could live anywhere, but we want to live in Illinois to be close to family. Politicians in Springfield could care less about how their decisions affect our livelihoods. Instead of changing the mold that got us here in the first place, they continue to prop up the same failed policies and come after us to pay for their bad decisions. I want to work on solutions like capping property taxes at 1% of home value so families can stay, while restructuring the cost drivers. I would like to work on reforms that build our economy instead of those that chase families away.
Please provide one example that demonstrates your independence from your party.
At the beginning of this year, Governor Rauner handpicked a candidate to run against me in the primary because I wanted to maintain my independence. I realized that I would be turning down financial support to assert my independence, but I did not want to be beholden to Governor Rauner like my opponent is beholden to Speaker Madigan. I am the only independent candidate in this race that is only beholden to the families of her district.
What other issues are important to you as a candidate for this office?
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.
In addition, here a few questions meant to provide more personal insight into you as a person:
What's the hardest decision you ever had to make?
In 2012, I had been working in Chile for six years and had been offered a position at the U.S. Embassy that I really wanted and had been working towards. They wanted me to commit to at least 3 years in the position. At the time, I was in what I now realize was an abusive relationship and I knew I wanted to make my future back home in Illinois. I made the hardest decision of my life to decline the offer. I still remember going to lunch with my boss and delivering the bad news. I trusted that my decision to move back home was the correct one for me despite my uncertainty. About a year later, my dad was diagnosed with cancer and I was able to stay with him and my mom through his surgery and recovery. A few years later I met my husband.
Who is your hero?
Speaking of my husband, he is my hero. Angel Garcia is always measured and even-tempered when dealing with difficult situations. It is what makes him a good lawyer. He interacts with people in their worst moments and takes the time to explain their options, while empowering them to make better decisions. Angel is fun to be around and the best teammate I could have in life. He is very supportive of my run for office and invested in the work we need to do to make the future a better place in Illinois.
Each amendment in the Bill of Rights is important, but which one of those 10 is most precious to you?
The Tenth Amendment gives power not granted to the United States to the States and the people. This amendment was written to limit the power delegated to the federal government and give States and citizens sovereign powers. I really like this amendment because it brings policy closer to the people. Most people probably will never sit down to talk with the President of the United States about tax reform, but they could make an appointment to sit down with their mayor or the school board president and advocate for lower taxes, for example. If we do not pay attention to local policy, we give people a lot of control over our livelihoods. This amendment gives me the opportunity to go to Springfield to advocate for the families in my district.
What lesson of youth has been most important to you as an adult?
When I was at Conant High School, my family hosted foreign exchange students and I had the opportunity to stay with a host family in Costa Rica. This early experience pushed me outside my comfort zone and gave me a different perspective and appreciation of other countries and my own. It was the first of many opportunities that developed my expertise of the Spanish language and my future careers. I went on to become a Spanish and ESL teacher and currently work as an International Relations Manager for a large medical association.
Think back to a time you failed at something. What did you learn from it?
I ran against Michelle Mussman last cycle and lost. I failed to bring independent leadership to my community, but I moved the marker forward closing a historical 20-point gap in half. I learned that when you go against the status quo your opponent goes to great lengths to retain power through whatever means possible. This often means discrediting you through misleading attacks on television and in mailers. I have learned that in order to affect change you have to have a tough skin, do the right thing, and trust the voters.