(Illinois News Network) — Like Gov. Bruce Rauner after his first months in office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s job approval rating has tumbled.
So low, that President Donald Trump has a higher approval rating.
In a We Ask America poll conducted last week, 800 registered Illinois voters gave Pritzker a job approval rating of 37 percent. The pollsters asked “Do you approve or disapprove of the job J.B. Pritzker is doing as Illinois governor,” to which 37 percent approved, 36 disapproved and 27 percent had no opinion.
When asked the same question about President Donald Trump, pollsters received a 41 percent positive response, but also had a higher total disapproval rate because fewer respondents had no opinion of the president.
Ideas Illinois president Greg Baise, who commissioned the poll, said Pritzker is likable, but his proposals for higher taxes and spending aren’t going over well.
“He’s not been clear about where he really wants the state to go in talking about tax policy,” Baise said. “He has a viewpoint that I don’t think is shared by a majority of Illinoisans that more spending and government intervention is helpful to the state.”
The poll respondents were more optimistic about the rest of the nation than they are in their own state, largely, Baise said, because residents aren’t being brought realistic solutions.
“They’re not hearing concrete answers,” Baise said.
Ideas Illinois has taken up the banner of opposition to changing Illinois’ flat income tax to one that taxes higher earners at a higher percentage, the signature campaign issue for Pritzker and what he’s basing the state’s budget on.
We Ask America has conducted polls for groups supporting both major parties. This particular poll was conducted between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27, using a blend of automated calls to landlines and live-operator calls to cell phones. Their margin of error was listed at +/- 3.46 percent.
Pritzker’s office didn’t respond to questions about the poll.
A similar poll from 2015 showed Gov. Rauner with a 43 percent approval rating after his first month in office.
