Almost half of Illinois voters – 48.6 percent - tend to oppose hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” because of concerns about the environment, according to a new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
By contrast, 31.8 percent believe that fracking should be encouraged for its economic benefits, and 20 percent are not sure about the issue.
Fracking is a process that utilizes high-pressure injection of water, sand, and chemicals to extract oil and natural gas from underground shale formations.
The poll, taken Feb. 28 thru Mar. 10, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Opposition is stronger in the Chicago area than it is downstate. There are 53.5 percent of Chicago and 51 percent of Chicago suburban voters who believe the practice should not be encouraged, while only 29 percent believe it should be encouraged for economic purposes. Downstate, 41.3 percent say fracking should be discouraged and 38.3 percent say it should be encouraged.
John Jackson, visiting professor at the Institute said “It is interesting to note that the highest level of support for fracking is Downstate, where it is likely to take place and have whatever economic benefit and environmental damage it may hold. “Those in Chicago and the suburbs, where it is not likely to have a direct impact are the most opposed,” he said.
Jackson added: “for all the national debate and publicity, a large percentage claim to not know much about fracking, and this is particularly surprising Downstate where it has been much debated.”
Voters’ opinions on fracking are split along party lines. Among Democrats, 19.7 percent believe that fracking should be encouraged, while 54.8 percent of Republicans want to encourage the practice. Similarly, a majority of Democrats (61.9 percent) and a minority of Republican (28.8 percent) voters believe that fracking should be discouraged due to environmental impacts.
Opinions on fracking are strongly influenced by whether or not a person believes the practice is safe. The majority (89.7 percent) of those that believe fracking is safe also believe that it should be encouraged. Similarly, the majority (92.8 percent) of those that believe fracking is not safe say it should not be encouraged.
Young people are much less likely than other groups to encourage fracking.
Almost three-fourths (73.8 percent) of respondents aged 18 to 25 believe fracking should not be encouraged due to environmental impacts. Only 11.9 percent of young adults believe the practice should be encouraged for economic reasons.
Location and political party affiliation appear to influence how much a person has heard about fracking.
People in the city of Chicago have heard more about fracking than those downstate. Forty-two percent of those in Chicago have heard a lot about fracking compared to 29 percent of voters downstate.
Republicans and independents have heard more about fracking than Democrats. Roughly 70 percent of both Republicans (69.5 percent) and independents (70.1 percent) have heard a lot or some about fracking. Only 55.8 percent of Democrats have heard the same.
Young people and Democrats are less likely than other groups to see fracking as a safe way to extract oil and natural gas.
Young adults (aged 18-25) are nearly twice as likely as people of other ages to believe that fracking is either not very safe or not at all safe. Fifty-nine point five percent of young adults believe the practice is not very safe or not at all safe compared to 34 percent of voters of any other age.
The percentage of Republicans who believe fracking is either safe or somewhat safe (61 percent) is over double the percentage of Democrats who believe the same (28.3 percent). A third (35.4 percent) of independents see the practice as safe.
These opinions are set within a larger national debate over hydraulic fracturing. Fracking regulations released by the Obama administration on March 20th have received push back from both parties, with those who support fracking claiming that regulations unnecessarily slow production, and environmentalists claiming the regulations are not strict enough.
