Voters As State Elections Loom: Can We Just Leave Illinois?
From the Associated Press
The people of Illinois are feeling particularly gloomy about their state, with its high unemployment, billions of dollars in debt, decades-long battles against corruption -- and another possible tax hike waiting for them after the November election.
The bad mood surfaces in public-opinion polls that startle even the pollsters, with one survey showing that more Illinoisans want to leave their home state than people in any other state in the U.S. It's also evident in the voting booth, where turnout in the March primary was the lowest on record. Now the cynicism is shaping one of the nation's most competitive governor's races, too.
"People are down in the dumps," said Rod Spears, a retired Army officer and conservative activist from southern Illinois who says he hears the same concerns from his golfing buddies, all union members and lifelong Democrats.
David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said when he moved to the state from Iowa six years ago, he found Illinoisans joking about their state's dysfunctional politics. Not so today.
"It's not a laughing matter anymore," Yepsen said.
In a poll of 1,001 registered Illinois voters conducted by the institute earlier this year, 89 percent said they believe corruption is somewhat common in the state. A separate poll by Gallup found only 28 percent of Illinois residents said they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in their government. That was the lowest percentage of any state, with the next lowest -- Rhode Island -- at 40 percent.
Half of Illinois residents in another Gallup poll said they would leave the state if they could, with about one-quarter saying they wanted to leave for work or business reasons. Smaller percentages mentioned weather, location and quality of life.
The governor's contest essentially boils down to the incumbent's insistence that it's not as bad as it used to be versus the challenger's exhortations to throw the bums out and start over.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Associated Press
The people of Illinois are feeling particularly gloomy about their state, with its high unemployment, billions of dollars in debt, decades-long battles against corruption -- and another possible tax hike waiting for them after the November election.
The bad mood surfaces in public-opinion polls that startle even the pollsters, with one survey showing that more Illinoisans want to leave their home state than people in any other state in the U.S. It's also evident in the voting booth, where turnout in the March primary was the lowest on record. Now the cynicism is shaping one of the nation's most competitive governor's races, too.
"People are down in the dumps," said Rod Spears, a retired Army officer and conservative activist from southern Illinois who says he hears the same concerns from his golfing buddies, all union members and lifelong Democrats.
David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said when he moved to the state from Iowa six years ago, he found Illinoisans joking about their state's dysfunctional politics. Not so today.
"It's not a laughing matter anymore," Yepsen said.
In a poll of 1,001 registered Illinois voters conducted by the institute earlier this year, 89 percent said they believe corruption is somewhat common in the state. A separate poll by Gallup found only 28 percent of Illinois residents said they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in their government. That was the lowest percentage of any state, with the next lowest -- Rhode Island -- at 40 percent.
Half of Illinois residents in another Gallup poll said they would leave the state if they could, with about one-quarter saying they wanted to leave for work or business reasons. Smaller percentages mentioned weather, location and quality of life.
The governor's contest essentially boils down to the incumbent's insistence that it's not as bad as it used to be versus the challenger's exhortations to throw the bums out and start over.
Read more in our daily News Update...