New Poll Shows Illinois Voters Ready for Change

Poll shows deep level of distrust in Illinois government
6/20/2008

Kathleen Haughney, St. Louis Post Dispatch

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois politicians have been largely mired in scandal and controversy the past few years, and voters are tired of it, according to a recent poll.

Former Gov. George Ryan was sent to prison last fall on conspiracy and fraud charges. A top fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich was recently convicted for using his political influence to squeeze bribes from contractors seeking business with the state. And political infighting between lawmakers and Blagojevich has stopped a state infrastructure plan and balanced budget from materializing so far this year.

It's a problem that seems unlikely to yield a quick solution, and according to a recent poll by political reform coalition Midwest Democracy Network, voters aren't happy about it.

The poll, which surveyed 402 Illinoisans and had a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points, gave Blagojevich a 13 percent approval rating and the legislature a 17 percent rating.

"If any of us only had a 17 percent approval rating, we'd lose our jobs," said Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and a spokeswoman for Midwest Democracy Network.

The poll was conducted from April 21 through May 4, during the highly publicized trial of Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko, who was convicted.

According to the poll, 3 percent of those polled "almost always" trust the government to do what is right, down from 7 percent in 2006. Meanwhile, 25 percent of respondents said they "almost never" trust the government, up from 14 percent in 2006.

Canary said voters are always grumbling about politicians, but recent years have been particularly bad in Illinois.

"In Illinois, in many ways this does stem back to the conviction of Gov. Ryan and the sense that our former governor went to jail and the response of our current governor and Legislature was nothing," she said. "They did nothing. They made no changes."

Brian Williamsen, a spokesman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, said many voters are upset because of high prices at the pump, grocery stores and elsewhere. However, he added that the governor would not base any future decisions on public opinion polls that could swing up or down at any time.

"One thing that is pretty clear — times are rough, people are not pleased with the political games and the lack of action that they are seeing from their leaders, and really who can blame them," he said.