Illinois

Report: Illinois Residents Least Confident in Their State Government

A recent poll found that only one in four Illinois residents are confident in their state government

Illinois residents are the least confident in their state government, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.

The poll found that 74 percent of Illinois residents were not confident in the state’s government, compared to 25 percent who said they were confident in the government.

The results are based on a 50-state poll conducted by Gallup between March and December 2015.

Roughly 500 adults from each state were asked during telephone interviews whether they have faith in their state’s “government in general."

Illinois is facing an eight-month budget impasse that has been typified by a battle between Gov. Bruce Rauner and his Democratic counterparts, who hold a majority in the state’s Senate and House.

As a result, social services as well as state universities and community colleges have suffered.

Officials in Chicago, the state's largest city, have also come under fire in the wake of the police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October of 2014. McDonald was shot and killed by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke. Murder charges were not filed against Van Dyke until dash-cam video of the incident was being made public in November of 2015.

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy was fired shortly after the video's release and protests were staged in the city asking for resignations from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. 

The state is also dealing with upwards of $100 billion in unfunded pension liability.

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