Things could be worse, of course. National surveys taken at roughly the same time found even fewer people seeing things going in the right direction nationally.
Most Illinoisans think the state is headed in the wrong direction.
Almost two-thirds believe state government has a lot or quite a bit of impact on the day-to-day lives of state residents, but three-quarters say state government can be trusted to do what is right hardly ever or only some of the time.
Nine out of 10 say changes are needed, and more than a third want big changes.
That gloomy picture emerged from the preliminary results of a survey of public opinion about state government and the role of citizens, conducted by the Survey Research Office within the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Things could be worse, of course. National surveys taken at roughly the same time found even fewer people seeing things going in the right direction nationally. Only 25 percent of those surveyed shared that view in a mid-May AP-Ipsos poll, while an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll a few weeks later found 68 percent believing things were off on the wrong track. Pollsters said the bleak national outlook reflected widespread discontent with the war in Iraq and President George W. Bush.
The survey of 465 Illinois residents was conducted over a month-long period from mid-May to mid-June, just as the Illinois General Assembly's spring session blundered into overtime when Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Democrat-controlled legislature could not agree on a budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. The survey's margin of error is plus-or-minus 5 percent, at a 95 percent confidence level.
The Illinois poll did not ask detailed questions about the fiscal standoff, although one question covered awareness of the governor's proposed gross receipts tax, a $7 billion tax hike to bankroll health care and education. Most of those polled said they had heard the governor proposed a new tax, but only 24 percent could identify what it was.
While Blagojevich and Democratic legislative leaders — Senate President Emil Jones Jr. and House Speaker Michael Madigan, both Chicago Democrats — engaged in mutual finger-pointing, the UIS poll found respondents generally displeased with everyone's performance.
Citizens gave slightly higher ratings to Blagojevich — one-third graded his performance A or B, while only 22 percent gave similar high grades to the legislature — but most viewed all players as mediocre at best, with 31 percent giving D or F to the governor and 29 percent grading lawmakers' performance as "poor" or "fail."
State government as an entity did not fare much better, receiving generally lackluster grades for being representative of the state's diversity, for being responsive to residents' needs and for being open in its processes and decision-making. Respondents were especially critical in the latter category, with only 17 percent rating Illinois good or better, while 43 percent said the state did poorly or failed altogether in openness.
Respondents also were tough on themselves. More than four out of five of those surveyed said they thought citizens should participate actively in politics by keeping informed and by voting, rather than leaving the arena to professional politicians and political parties. But only 27 percent rated their own performance as a citizen as excellent or good, while 23 percent gave themselves Ds or Fs. Forty-eight percent opted for Cs — "average." While three-quarters said they voted in 2006, only 43 percent said they followed what's been going on in state government this year fairly or very closely.
Doing a mediocre job of staying informed might account for a couple of responses that Survey Research Office Director Richard Schuldt did not expect.
"The two things I was most surprised about were, first, the fact that most people thought that we had a progressive income tax rather than a flat rate tax," Schuldt says, "and secondarily, most thought there are campaign limits on contributions. Here are two cases where there are misperceptions out there."
Indeed, 62 percent said those with bigger incomes pay a higher rate, while 53 percent said there are limits on how much individuals and groups can contribute to candidates.
Actually, Illinois has a flat-rate income tax, with individuals assessed 3 percent regardless of income level. And anyone may contribute any amount to any state or local candidate, which has led to skyrocketing campaign spending. In fact, three-quarters of those surveyed agreed that campaign costs discouraged candidates that might represent their interests from seeking office.
Additionally, almost half — 49 percent — mistakenly believed Illinois to be a high-tax state, considering all taxes paid to state and local governments. Only 5 percent knew that Illinois generally is considered a low-tax state, when tax burden is measured as a percentage of income.
However, 74 percent knew that public schools here get most of their money from local property taxes rather than state income or sales taxes, a reflection perhaps of the decades-long public campaign to have the state assume a greater role in education funding.
What to make of the results, which Schuldt presented last month at a forum on state government and citizen participation at UIS?
Clearly, folks are unhappy about things in Springfield, but they are not despairing. They may not be overwhelmed by the performance of the professional politicians, but they also recognize that the public shares some of the blame. People need to stay informed, to vote, to become active politically. There's too much at stake to allow professional politicians to treat government as their private preserve, most respondents indicated.
Perhaps most encouraging, fully 70 percent said that they would encourage a son or daughter thinking about a career in state government to pursue it. What-ever misgivings Illinois citizens might entertain about the current crop of public servants, they appear not to have abandoned hope for a brighter future.
Charles N. Wheeler III is director of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Illinois Issues, July/August 2007
