Progress Illinois

Back in April, the SEIU Illinois State Council (which sponsors this website) commissioned a citywide poll and found that only 41 percent of respondents gave Mayor Daley a positive job approval rating, down from 56 percent in a 2006 survey.  Now the Tribune has conducted a new poll of their own which suggests that even fewer Chicagoans approve of the mayor's performance today:

For the first time since he became mayor two decades ago, Daley's critics outnumber his fans, a Tribune/WGN poll found. The mayor's approval rating is at an all-time low of 35 percent in Tribune polls, according to the new survey.

Not surprisingly, the mayor -- in a comment reminiscent of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- blamed the poor numbers on the economy: 

“It has nothing to do with my popularity. These are serious times … People are mad because of the uncertainty of the economy. It’s been going very well and all of a sudden everything collapsed."

But the frustration among respondents goes beyond economic woes.  Check out their feelings about the mayor's parking meter privatization debacle:

Nine out of 10 people disapprove of the parking meter deal, according to the Tribune/WGN poll, which surveyed 380 Chicago voters from Aug. 27 to Aug. 31. The poll has an error margin of 5 percentage points.

Here's Ald. Joe Moore's (49th Ward) reaction to the news:

"The mayor's go-it-alone governing style is coming back to haunt him," Moore said. "With times tough and the budget tight, it's important to be open and transparent. That has not been a hallmark of Richard M. Daley's administration."

Dan Mihalopoulos' write-up of the poll deserves a full read.  It includes some illuminating anecdotes from inside City Hall, including a scene from earlier this summer in which Daley flipped out after hearing Ald. Manny Flores' (1st Ward) demand for more information on the mayor's furlough plan.   

Mihalopoulos also notes that there is "no serious challenger on the horizon" in 2011.  But now that there is more evidence of Daley's weak standing, that may change.