Oct 23, 2008 11:11 am US/Central
Poll: Blagojevich Approval Rating Only 13 Percent
Tribune: 'Lowest Rating Ever' For An Elected Official In Their Polls
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich (File)
CBS
A new poll indicates that approval ratings for Gov. Rod Blagojevich has dropped to 13 percent – the lowest rating ever posted in three decades of surveys by the Chicago Tribune.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, Blagojevich has said he considers himself a great governor, and he has been raising funds to run for a third term even though reports say he is the subject of a federal investigation.
But the Tribune survey indicates that three fourths of Illinois voters do not think Blagojevich should run for a third term.
The survey also showed an approval rating of only 13 percent for Blagojevich. Recently, President Bush's approval rating has hovered around 20 percent.
The Tribune story by reporter Rick Pearson says Blagojevich is experiencing "the lowest ratings ever recorded for an elected politician in nearly three decades of Tribune polls."
Many Illinois residents say they can understand why Blagojevich's approval rating is so low.
"Well, I don't think the governor straight with people of Illinois, and he's been more concerned about his personal image, which obviously, he isn't doing a good job," said Mitchell Klein.
"I don't think that he has done enough for education," added Sheila White. "I think it's really deplorable, the money htat hasn't spent that was supposed to be spent."
"I mean, he is what he is," said Kymara Staggers. "I think he needs to be replaced."
"I would give people the benefit of the doubt – me personally," said Ricky Sease.
"I don't a lot of faith in somebody who can't honestly raise money, and who rewards people with jobs in exchange for campaign contributions," added Gretchen Sperry.
This year, Blagojevich's top advisor, Antoin "Tony" Rezko was found guilty of corruption and pay to play politics. The governor has not been charged with any crime, but Rezko have been talking to federal officials, and earlier this month a source told CBS 2 that prosecutors were "closing in" on Blagojevich.
The Tribune survey found that only 8 percent of Illinois voters think Blagojevich has made good on his promise to end government corruption, which was a major focus of his first campaign for governor in 2002 as scandal began to encircle then-Gov. George Ryan.
It also showed that support for Blagojevich among African-Americans has plummeted, after it was as high as 70 percent in a 2006 series of polls by the Tribune.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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