03/31/2014
Brendan Bond
Reboot Illinois
The big race in Illinois this year is the one for governor in Illinois. Along with that seat, the top executive position in the state is the mayor of Chicago. Rahm Emanuel left his post as White House Chief of Staff for the position of mayor, and despite the issues the unions have with him, many feel it would be an upset if he didn’t win reelection in 2015.
If one specific person ran, that upset could be a reality though.
A new poll from The Illinois Observer shows Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle would be the favorite to win if she were to enter the race (which she hasn’t yet).
From The Illinois Observer:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel‘s pursuit of a second term could be thwarted by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were she to decide to run, a new survey says.
In an exclusive poll commissioned by The Illinois Observer, Preckwinkle captures 40% of likely voters, while Emanuel snags 32%, leaving 28% of voters undecided in a head-to-head matchup.
Crain’s Chicago Business columnist Greg Hinz also looked at the poll and pointed out while it is encouraging for Preckwinkle, too much shouldn’t be read into it just yet.
More from Hinz:
This being March Madness weekend, here’s a little political madness to chew over in between hoops games: a poll that shows Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle beating Mayor Rahm Emanuel in his presumed re-election race.
The survey, taken for political news publication Illinois Observer by LaGrange-based Strive Strategies of 724 likely voters shows that most, 53 percent, think Chicago is headed in the wrong direction, to just 47 percent who think the city is going in the right direction.
Asked flatly who they’d support for mayor in a two-way race 40 percent said Ms. Preckwinkle, and 32 percent Mr. Emanuel, with 28 percent undecided.
Ms. Preckwinkle has said her intention to fill out a new 4-year county term, if she is re-elected on Nov. 4, but hasn’t absolutely nailed the door shut on a mayoral bid. If I were her, I’d be encouraged.
That having been said, I ran the poll by several political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and none of them was impressed with the survey.
Brendan Bond is an editorial assistant at Reboot Illinois. He is a graduate of Loyola University, where he majored in journalism. Brendan takes a look each day at the Land of Lincoln Lowdown and it’s often pretty low. He examines the property tax rates that drive Illinoisans insane. You can find Reboot on Facebook at and on Twitter @rebootillinois. His email is Brendan.Bond@rebootillinois.com.