Sixty-five percent of Chicagoans support Illinois’ Invest in Kids school-choice program. Despite the city’s problems, a majority of residents want to stay and a majority want the city to freeze property taxes to make living here more affordable.
PRESS RELEASE from the
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
CONTACT: Micky Horstman (312) 607-4977
Poll: Just 33% of Chicagoans are satisfied with public education in Chicago, 62% of Chicagoans support school choice
Sixty-five percent of Chicagoans support Illinois’ Invest in Kids school-choice program. Despite the city’s problems, a majority of residents want to stay and a majority want the city to freeze property taxes to make living here more affordable.
CHICAGO (Feb. 23, 2023) – New polling finds a majority of Chicagoans are dissatisfied with public education in the city and support school choice. This new poll was conducted by Echelon Insights on behalf of the Illinois Policy Institute.
Nearly 80% of Chicago 11th graders could not read or perform math at grade level, according to state data from 2022. Half of Chicago Public Schools students are chronically absent.
The poll finds 62% of Chicagoans support school choice.
According to poll results, 65% of Chicagoans support the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program, which gives low-income students access to scholarships so they can pursue the education that best fits their needs. In 2023, lawmakers will have a chance to make Invest in Kids permanent. If they don’t, it expires.
More than half of Chicago parents think the Chicago Teachers Union has too much influence over city government, compared to 15% who say it has too little.
CTU political organizer Brandon Johnson is among nine candidates vying to make the runoff election, as the union is facing scrutiny over a $415,000 loan to his campaign using member dues.
Despite problems, people want to stay in Chicago
More people said they would prefer to stay in Chicago than leave. Of those saying they would leave Chicago if given the opportunity, 85% cited crime or safety, and 39% cited taxes or affordability in their open-ended responses as reasons why they want to move.
Taxes and public safety
Crime (71%) and high taxes (27%) were overwhelmingly voters’ most important issues, according to the poll.
Chicagoans support a property tax freeze and avoiding further tax hikes on businesses.
During the past 10 years, Chicago’s property tax levy has doubled, growing from $860 million to more than $1.7 billion in 2023. These increases raise costs for homeowners, renters and businesses across the city.
A majority of Chicagoans polled also favor lowering taxes for businesses over raising them.
The poll also found when it comes to tackling crime in the city, Chicagoans tend to prefer a larger police presence and more rigorous prosecution of offenders, though 45% favor an approach to public safety that addresses the root causes of crime, such as poverty and a lack of jobs.
Poll toplines are available here: https://illin.is/ChicagoPollToplinesFeb23
Poll crosstabs are available here: https://illin.is/ChicagoPollCrosstabsFeb23