Crain's/Ipsos poll: Pat Quinn has dismal approval numbers

In 2010, a slew of Democratic campaign staffers employed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn learned of the veracity of this H.L. Mencken quote: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." And in a state that elected Quinn's old running mate, Rod Blagojevich--twice--Mencken's wisdom is doubly true.

Quinn lied about the size of the income tax increase he was seeking in '10, and when his "temporary" hike went into effect the following year, he said it would be used to pay off old bills. Odd thing: Illinois' backlog of bills has risen from $8 billion to $9 billion since then. And we have $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.

A Crain's/Ipsos poll finds that only 23 percent of Illinoisans approve of the Chicago Democrats' performance--46 percent disapprove. And two-thirds of Prairie Staters disapprove of how Quinn is handling the economy.

But Crain's finds some good news for Quinn: "Given how poorly respondents say the state is doing, it's surprising that Mr. Quinn's negative ratings aren't higher than 46 percent."

Never underestimate the foolishness of Illinois voters.

Related post:

(Video) Roger Hedgecock speaks about California and Illinois at RightOnline 2012

Technorati tags: pensions Politics economy news Patrick Quinn pat quinn government taxesillinois politics

"Corrupt Illinois Shirt"