Illinois Toplines - August 12, 2008

Illinois Survey of 500 Likely Voters
Conducted August 12, 2008
By Rasmussen Reports

1* How do you rate the way that George W. Bush is performing his role as President? Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

18% Excellent

15% Good

13% Fair

53% Poor

1% Not sure

2* If the Presidential Election were held today, would you vote for Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama?

	Without Leaners	With Leaners
McCain	38%	40%
Obama	53%	55%
Other	3%	1%
Not sure	5%	4%

3* Favorable Ratings

	Obama	McCain
Very Favorable	42%	19%
Somewhat Favorable	22%	33%
Somewhat Unfavorable	14%	24%
Very Unfavorable	21%	20%
Not sure	2%	4%

4* In terms of how you will vote for President, are you primarily interested in National Security issues such as the War with Iraq and the War on Terror, Economic issues such as jobs and economic growth, Domestic Issues like Social Security and Health Care, Cultural issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion, or Fiscal issues such as taxes and government spending?

23% National Security Issues

39% Economic Issues

14% Domestic Issues

5% Cultural Issues

10% Fiscal Issues

8% Not sure

5* Governor Blagojevich has called lawmakers back to Springfield for another special session to pass a construction plan. How confident are you lawmakers will come to an agreement this time?

3% Very confident

14% Somewhat confident

54% Not very confident

20% Not at all confident

8% Not sure

6* Whom do you blame for the stalemate in the construction plan debate? … Governor Blagojevich, House Speaker Mike Madigan, other legislative leaders, or Mayor Daley?

42% Governor Blagojevich
19% House Speaker Mike Madigan

12% Other legislative leaders

3% Mayor Daley

23% Not sure

7* African-American lawmakers have recently complained that the state inadequately distributes public school funding because funding is based upon property taxes. Should Illinois change its property-tax dependent system for funding public schools and come up with a new plan that distributes funding more equally?

58% Yes

31% No

12% Not sure

8* State Senator James Meeks is calling on Chicago Public School students to boycott the first day of class, and attempt to enroll in wealthier suburban schools instead. Will this protest help or hurt chances for changing the way public school funding is distributed in Illinois?

13% Help

50% Hurt

27% Not impact

10% Not sure

9* Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is in Beijing observing the Olympics ... Does his trip help or hurt Chicago's chances of securing the 2016 games?

56% Help

7% Hurt

28% Not impact

9% Not sure

10* Does Chicago's increase in crime this summer help or hurt the city's chances of securing the 2016 games?

6% Help

63% Hurt

22% Not impact

9% Not sure

11* Does the state of Chicago's mass transit system help or hurt the city's chances of securing the 2016 games?

33% Help

37% Hurt

18% Not impact

12% Not sure

12* Do you think Chicago will win the bid for the 2016 games over Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo?

25% Yes

46% No

29% Not sure

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence