Pritzker at 50% approval ahead of Illinois budget address

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s favorability is at exactly 50% ahead of his annual budget address, a chance to win over the 46% of voters with an unfavorable opinion of him. But based on his history of aggressive spending and taxation, what are the odds?

Illinois is split on Gov. J.B. Pritzker, with 50% of voters having a favorable opinion of him, according to a new Illinois Policy Institute poll conducted by M3 Insights.

Of the 510 likely voters polled, 50% had a favorable view of Pritzker, 47% unfavorable and 3% with no opinion. Pritzker’s Feb. 19 budget address is a chance for the governor to sway the nearly half of voters who see him unfavorably. That starts with taxes.

In the same poll, 52% of voters said high taxes were the most important issue facing the state, followed by state governance with 26% and both crime and the economy at 24%. Illinois’ budget has grown by $15 billion since Pritzker’s first took office. His last budget came with $898 million in in new taxes, the bulk of which fell on businesses.

Pritzker recently said the state “needs to live within its means” and taxes for increased revenue would only be a last resort. But residents will have to wait until his address to find out what he wants to spend and how he expects taxpayers to pay for it.

Illinois’ tax climate has pushed families and businesses out of the state. There is a better way, and the Illinois Policy Institute outlines it in a new report: Illinois Forward 2026: How Illinois can spend responsibly.