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* Man, I am having a day! Forgot to post my own syndicated weekly newspaper column…
When Emerson College unveiled its latest Illinois poll last week, its press release included three “key takeaways.” At the very top of its list was this: “Fifty-two percent (52%) majority of voters think things in Illinois are on the wrong track, while 48% think things are headed in the right direction.”
The college is based in Massachusetts, a liberal state with a popular Republican governor. A recent poll taken in Massachusetts by Suffolk University found that 59% believed their state was on the right track, while 33% said it was on the wrong track.
So, while I can easily see why people in Massachusetts would highlight an inverse opinion in Illinois as bad news, that poll result was actually pretty darned good news.
Way back in 2008, when Rod Blagojevich was nearing his fateful end, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found that 75% of Illinoisans believed Illinois was heading in the wrong direction, while 12.4% believed it was going in the right direction.
In 2010, the Simon Institute had the wrong/right track result at 81%-11%. In 2011, the Institute poll pegged the numbers at 75%-15% wrong/right, and it stayed there for a while. The Simon poll’s 2012 wrong/right results were 70%-20%. The 2013 Simon poll had it at 75%-16%.
In early 2015, shortly after Republican Bruce Rauner was sworn in as governor, Illinoisans’ mood improved a little.“Only” 63% said the state was headed in the wrong direction, while 22% said it was moving in the right direction.
By 2016, after all heck had broken loose in Springfield amid Rauner’s refusal to negotiate a budget until he won his war with organized labor, things got even worse. The Simon poll found a whopping 84% of the state’s voters believed Illinois was off on the wrong track, while only 10% thought it was following the right path. The Simon poll numbers were essentially unchanged two years later (84%-9%) as Rauner was finishing up his first and only term.
Illinoisans have overwhelmingly agreed on one thing over the years: Illinois sucks. It’s quite a remarkable consensus.
And it isn’t like people were totally wrong.
We have more than our share of crooked politicians. We had three governors in a row who made a complete mess of things. Our former House speaker had more concentrated power than anyone in our state’s history, and he often used his office to play other people and institutions for sport.
Issues were ignored, everything seemed to be in decay, there was never enough money to achieve basic goals.
Entire cottage industries sprang up to take advantage of Illinoisans’ collective hatred of their state by giving them often-massaged data to feed their rage. Everything is bad all the time to these groups. “Death spiral” was one of their favorite phrases to describe Illinois’ predicament. People have been paid quite well to live in nice homes and tell everyone else their lives were miserable because of state employee pensions, or whatever the current bogeyman was.
Then something happened that upset a lot of people at the time but turned everything around. A super-majority of Republicans and Democrats overrode Rauner’s veto of an income tax hike. Oh, there was such blinding, white-hot rage from the well-paid doomsayers at the time. But I think they knew the gig was up.
It took some years to pay off the crushing short-term debts incurred under Rauner and his predecessors, but the state started to right itself again thanks to that extra revenue. After some decent governance, the “death spiral” people have mostly moved on to opposing COVID-19 mitigations, or complaining about “Critical Race Theory” or whatever.
Because of that increased tax revenue, our pension debt, while high, has become far more manageable. Businesses and nonprofit organizations that do much of the actual physical work of government don’t have to worry about not being paid in a timely manner. Subsequent tax hikes on motor fuel and gaming expansion and legalizing cannabis have provided needed funds to fix our decrepit roads and bridges, repair our dilapidated public buildings and invest in neglected communities.
Again, I don’t strongly disagree with popular sentiment over the years. Illinois has often been a basket case, even without the deliberately provocative exaggerations from the doom-and-gloom types. And I also agree with what appears to be current sentiment that Illinois is slightly more negative than positive. We still have a ways to go. But, at least now, the destination might possibly be in sight.
It sure would be nice to live in a more “normal” state.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 1:44 pm
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On State Week, Hannah Meisel wisely observed that the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe gave Illinoisans a different perspective on our neighboring states and that may have improved their right track/wrong track view of Illinois.
When you’re faced with the fact that people have fewer rights elsewhere, maybe Illinois doesn’t seem quite so bad.
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 1:57 pm
Is Illinois better off than it was four years ago? By any objective standard, the answer is pretty obvious.
Comment by jackmac Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 1:59 pm
More indication of how worn out the ilgop talking points are.
Comment by Dick Bigger Jr. Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 2:20 pm
Pro-business is as pro-business does. Paying bills timely, and paying debt, is pro-business. Same with properly funding the state. The previous governor was historically anti-business.
Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 2:37 pm
But now that we are putting litter boxes in the bathrooms in the schools, taxes are gonna have to go up again.
Comment by Jerry Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 2:45 pm
==litter boxes==
Wait, do you seriously believe this?
Comment by Left of what Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 3:16 pm
As an immigrant, constantly amazed at how the natives think Illinois is the worst at everything. It isn’t, and far from it.
Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 3:49 pm
==constantly amazed at how the natives think Illinois is the worst at everything==
Illinois native who has lived in other states and is gladly back home. Illinois is a pretty good place to live, all told.
Comment by Lulu in Lake Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 4:19 pm
“After some decent governance…”. To me, this admission by one of the top political reporters in the state says a lot about the job JB has done.
Comment by Padraig Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 4:41 pm
One thing I’ve noticed is the number of Illinois natives who incessantly complain about our state.
I’ve lived elsewhere. I’ve lived in Michigan and then Ohio but our family never had stability until we came to Illinois.
I’ve lived in Tennessee. I’ll take their weather but they can have everything else.
This is my home. I love it and I’m heartened by what Pritzker and crew has done in the past few years.
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 5:28 pm
Once the Federal pandemic magic money vanishes what is the plan? To raise taxes again? Allowing cannabis sales at schools?
Comment by Nope Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 7:48 pm
==three governors in a row who made a complete mess==
Edgar, Ryan, Blagojevich?
Or Blago, Quinn, Rauner?
Edgar and Quinn had their faults, but neither belongs in the “complete mess” club…
Comment by Celtic Misty Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 10:14 pm
Thanks, JB
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Nov 1, 22 @ 7:18 am