"[J]ust 2 percent of Chicagoans surveyed said they strongly approve of the mayor's job performance." - Crain's Chicago Business.
Details after the Jump.
Crain's Chicago Business:
Burdened by a wave of murders, dissension over proposed school closings and perhaps his own hard-ball image, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's job-approval rating has taken a big hit in recent months, according to a new Crain's/Ipsos Illinois Poll.
Negative attitudes toward the mayor are significantly higher in suburban and downstate areas than in Chicago proper. That may not be surprising, given Mr. Emanuel's fierce focus on his extensive agenda for Chicago. But there is slippage among city voters, too.
Overall, according to the survey of 600 voting-age Illinois residents, 50 percent say they at least lean toward disapproval of his performance as mayor, versus only 19 percent who somewhat or strongly approve, or lean toward approval. That's a margin of 31 percentage points.
When Crain's/Ipsos last polled about the mayor, in September, those surveyed were about split, with 34 percent approving and 33 percent disapproving. Remaining respondents in both cases said they have mixed feelings or aren't sure.
In Chicago itself, voting-age adults aren't nearly as negative as other Illinois residents. But as he nears the middle of his four-year term, Mr. Emanuel's standing has slipped, though most of his loss of support has gone into the “mixed feelings” or undecided category, rather than to disapproval.
Specifically, just 2 percent of Chicagoans surveyed said they strongly approve of the mayor's job performance, with 12 percent somewhat approving and 5 percent leaning that way. At the opposite end, 13 percent strongly disapprove, 9 percent somewhat disapprove and 13 percent lean toward disapproval.
Currently Rahm Emanuel is in the process of closings up to 129 schools and forcing them to fight for survival in a
Hunger Games-like scenario.
When schools close in blighted areas (all but a few of the schools on the list for possible closure are in poor neighborhoods), students are forced to cross gangs territories to get to school. This played out in recent shooting deaths of Chicago youth.
Early on in his tenure, Emanuel appointed reality TV star Gary McCarthy to head up Chicago Police. McCarthy was not from Chicago and does not understand the neighborhoods.
The violence coupled with the public support teachers received during the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union strike against the Mayor, Emanuel's numbers are at an all time low.
Rahm Emanuel's campaign co-chair UNO School CEO Juan Rangel's charter operation is currently under investigation for defrauding the public.
Rahm was so desperate for public favor during the teachers' strike in September, he enlisted some help from the Michigan Tea Party: