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WEDNESDAY, March 25, 2026
HOUSING; TAXES; PRITZKER; COLLEGES; GUNS

POLL SHOWS SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION ON HOUSING A YouGov poll conducted earlier this month shows Illinois registered voters overwhelmingly believe that the cost of renting and buying a home is a problem in Illinois, think that there aren’t enough affordable homes for average folks and want the legislature to take action.

The poll of 806 Illinois registered voters was taken March 1-9 and has a margin of error of +/-3.8 percent. The survey was conducted on behalf of YIMBY Illinois, a nonprofit which “advocates for abundant housing and sustainable, inclusive cities throughout Illinois.” But, the questions look legit and the poll even tests some opposing arguments. However, some legislative opponents are characterizing the plan as essentially planting substandard dwellings in upscale suburban neighborhoods. Proponents hotly deny this.

The poll was released as Gov. JB Pritzker and others are pushing a plan to build “missing middle” residences, including multi-family developments and “granny flats” throughout the state. But proponents must overcome strong opposition from many municipal governments which do not want to give up their control of local zoning.

You’ll notice below that the poll tested support and opposition among those who approve and disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance. The poll found that 60 percent of Illinois registered voters disapproved of President Trump’s job performance (52 percent strongly disapprove), while 38 percent approved (21 percent strongly). That’s actually slightly better for the POTUS than some more recent national polls.

84 percent of those polled said the cost of renting or buying a home was a “major problem” (47 percent) or “somewhat a problem” (37 percent). That majority held up in every state region and demographic. Even 76 percent of those who approve of President Trump’s job performance said it’s a problem (39 percent major, 37 percent somewhat, with 17 percent saying it’s a minor or not really a problem). Just a reminder that subsets have a higher margin of error than the overall survey.

Another 67 percent of respondents said Illinois does not have “enough homes that are affordable for average people to buy or rent,” while 18 percent said there were enough and 16 percent weren’t sure or didn’t know. Again, every region and demographic agreed with the position, including 54 percent of Trump approvers.

A sizable 82 percent said state legislators should “take action” to address the housing shortage and costs of housing in the state (49 percent strongly agreed and 33 percent somewhat agreed). Even 68 percent of Trump supporters either strongly (35) or somewhat (33) agreed, while just 20 percent disagreed (8 percent strongly).

Voters were somewhat split when asked to rate their city or town’s efforts to keep housing affordable, with 47 percent rating it positively, including 3 percent “very good,” 11 percent “good” and 33 percent “acceptable.” Another 40 percent rated it negatively, with 10 percent saying it’s “very poor” and 30 percent calling it “poor.” Those results were roughly similar throughout regions and all other demographics.

Perhaps the most surprising result was when voters were asked, “even if it isn’t exactly right,” which of the following came closer to their opinions: 61 percent said it was “more important to build more homes in my neighborhood so that people who work in my community can afford to live here, than it is to protect the neighborhood from change,” while 27 percent said it’s “more important to protect my neighborhood from change than it is to build more homes that working people can afford.” Even a plurality of 47 percent of Trump supporters agreed with building more homes in their communities so people could afford to live where they work, while 40 percent said protecting their neighborhood from change was more important.

65 percent said they agreed that “Building more affordable housing is more important for Illinois,” and 27 percent said “Protecting the character of neighborhoods from change is more important for Illinois” was closer to their opinion.

And despite a plurality narrowly approving of their local governments’ ability to keep housing affordable, 65 percent (including 57 percent of Trump supporters) said “Illinois state legislators should prioritize building more homes and bringing down housing costs,” while just 18 percent said “Illinois state legislators should prioritize preserving the power city governments have over what types of homes can be built and where.” Another 17 percent were unsure.

The poll also tested various ways of building more affordable housing and all had majority support, although all had more “somewhat” support than “strong” support. I’ll post that stuff at the blog today.

While the numbers don’t show voters want to give the state carte blanche, these results are much more positive than many Statehouse types probably expected.

And a whopping 83 percent, including 85 percent of Trump supporters, agreed with the statement: “I want to see my elected officials in the State Legislature work with other representatives across the aisle to try to pass policies that address my needs.” Just 7 percent, along with the same percentage of Trump supporters, said: “I want to see my elected officials in the State Legislature only working with members of their own party to try to pass policies that address my needs.”

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PRITZKER DISCUSSES ESTATE AND MOTOR FUEL TAX RELIEF – by Isabel Miller with Rich Miller After a question from a reporter yesterday, Gov. JB Pritzker said he’d be open to lowering the state’s estate tax to help small businesses and family farmers.

“If we can put together a package that makes sense - but it’s got to go through the legislature and get to my desk - I do think it’s something that I could support, as long as it includes the kind of tax break that I think is appropriate to preserving small farms and small businesses.”

Lowering the estate tax has strong support in the Senate Democratic caucus, according to previous statements by Senate President Don Harmon. But the current budget situation could make passing such a cut quite difficult.

Pritzker sidestepped a question about suspending Illinois’ automatic motor fuel tax increase, while a House Republican called for immediate relief at the pump amid spiking gas prices due to the war in Iran.

Illinois law ties annual motor fuel tax hikes to inflation. Last July, the tax automatically increased by 1.3 cents per gallon, bringing it to 48.3 cents per gallon for gasoline (55.8 cents for diesel). The comptroller’s office says it’s generated more than $2 billion since last July 1.

Pritzker reminded reporters at an agriculture-related news conference that the state has limited ability to directly lower fuel prices, but also pointed to Illinois’ 2022 delay of the annual gas tax increase during high inflation and stressed the need to keep infrastructure projects funded.

“When we had very high inflation a few years ago, the legislature and I were able to suspend the [automatic motor fuel tax increase] in the state for a period of time,” Pritzker said. “Remember, we’re also trying to build roads. And I mean, especially for the agriculture community it’s been very important for us to grow, typically roads and bridges, to make sure that we’ve got our barges running, investing in ports on our rivers and so on. So it’s a challenging endeavor because of the infrastructure needs of the state, but I look for all of those ways that we can reduce costs for people.”

As Pritzker left the press conference, I asked if he’s considering another suspension of the automatic hike. He didn’t respond.

Hours later, Rep. Jed Davis (R-Yorkville) called on the governor and Democratic legislators to suspend the gas tax in a press release.

“Condemning the federal government won’t lower gas prices – suspending the gas tax will,” Rep. Davis said.

However, Operating Engineers Union Local 150 called any move to suspend the tax increase short-sighted and said it could create a funding gap, risking higher costs down the road.

“Suspending the gas tax might sound like quick relief, but it’s a short-term fix that creates long-term problems,” a union official said in a statement. “Gas prices are driven by global markets and can swing overnight – so a temporary tax suspension offers limited, short-lived relief at best. Meanwhile, the motor fuel tax accounts for more than half of Illinois’ transportation revenue.”

I reached out to the governor’s office about suspending the gas tax increase and Rep. Davis’ press release. A spokesperson did not say whether the governor is considering a suspension, but pointed to national and global factors, including Trump administration policies, as driving market volatility.

“President Trump’s reckless decisions are destabilizing global oil markets and driving up prices at the pump for American families,” the statement said. “It’s deeply telling that Illinois Republicans would rather point fingers than get President Trump to change course and bring stability that would actually lower prices. As Trump and Republicans take away health care and food assistance for working families, Gov. Pritzker is focused on lowering costs and always evaluating responsible ways to provide relief for Illinoisans – but real relief starts with ending the war in Iran.”

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MOMENTUM FOR FOUR-YEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE DEGREES? – by Isabel Miller with Rich Miller After fierce opposition to a similar effort last year, most Illinois four-year universities are now officially “No Position” on a plan to let community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees, according to online witness slips. Sources close to the effort say they expect actual movement this year.

The new legislation, House Bill 5319 is sponsored by Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl (D-Northbrook) and has been assigned to the House Executive Committee, which is scheduled to meet this morning. Last year’s bill was assigned to the House Higher Education Committee and wasn’t called for a vote because the chair opposed it. That committee change is a strong sign that the bill has legs.

The proposal lays out which community colleges could offer four-year degrees and how many programs they can launch, with oversight from the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

It also tries to head off turf battles. Programs could be flagged as ‘duplicative’ if a similar one exists within 20 miles of the City Colleges of Chicago or 40 miles elsewhere, but they wouldn’t be automatically blocked if the community college can show lower costs or better access.

There are limits: most community colleges could offer just one bachelor’s program in the first three years, while City Colleges could offer up to three.

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G-PAC and GIFFORDS HAD A GOOD PRIMARY – by Isabel Miller Nearly all candidates backed by both the Gun Violence Prevention PAC and GIFFORDS PAC won their primaries, with two exceptions.

One of those exceptions was Adam Braun, who was backed in part because of his work on Illinois’ assault weapons ban as a deputy attorney general. Braun reported $50,000 in in-kind support from G-PAC, including four mailers. Even with roughly $470,000 in outside backing from DraftKings- and Meta-linked groups, he finished third with 11 percent. Demi Palecek won with 42 percent, according to unofficial results.

Three supported candidates have yet to disclose their in-kind contributions from G-PAC, even though the committee notified all the candidates of the spending.

Rep. Jaime Andrade, who lost to progressive challenger Miguel Alvelo Rivera, and Shantel Franklin, who won the race for Rep. La Shawn Ford’s seat, each received $5,000 in digital support, according to a G-PAC official. Both said they plan to file the disclosures soon.

G-PAC says gun violence prevention advocate Cleo Cowley, who won the Democratic primary for Rep. Nick Smith’s seat, received $30,000 in support through mail and digital ads, but her campaign has not yet reported the contribution. She did not respond to an inquiry on when her report would be filed.

State law requires in-kind contributions to be reported within two business days if received within 30 days of an election. Just a thought, maybe a better way would be for the in-kind contributor to file disclosures as well as the candidates.

Other endorsed winners include Sens. Sara Feigenholtz and Emil Jones III, and Reps. Kam Buckner, Lilian Jiménez and Aaron Ortiz.

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