* This poll was embargoed until after midnight today, so I refused to post yesterday’s Sun-Times story until I got the actual results…

A new poll shows widespread support among Illinois voters across the political spectrum for the gun-control proposals being debated in Washington and Springfield.

By a 4-1 ratio, voters said they were more likely to elect legislative candidates who backed strong gun-control measures, according to the poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

Those voters included gun owners, the poll found.

“It’s clear voters in Illinois are ready to reward candidates who support these limits — and punish candidates who don’t,” said pollster Al Quinlan, whose Washington-based firm does work for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

OK, first of all, the poll was conducted for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. So you gotta take the results with at least one grain of salt.

Secondly, these “more likely to vote” for or against a candidate results are often misconstrued by the media. The results are a gauge of how intense support or opposition really is. You need some pretty high numbers to indicate real electoral trouble or benefit, depending.

And, finally, the pollster surveyed 600 registered voters, not likely voters. That means we’re probably seeing a more liberal skew.

* From the actual poll…

Thinking about the elections for Illinois general assembly in 2014, are you more likely to vote for a candidate who supported a strong conceal and carry law with many of the proposals you just heard, or are you more likely to vote for a candidate who supported a weaker law with fewer restrictions, or would it make no difference?

Kind of a loaded question if you ask me. “Stronger” vs. “weaker”? C’mon.

* Results…

Many of the provisions tested in the poll are actually in Rep. Brandon Phelps’ concealed carry bill, including bans on concealed carry in schools, stadiums, bars, and requiring training, permits and background checks.

The big difference between the two sides is one seeks a far broader ban, even near schools, for instance, while one would only ban it in school buildings.

But the poll did find that by 65-32, Illinoisans want concealed carry banned on buses and trains. That’s a very large margin. Rep. Phelps opposes that idea.

* When asked whether they favored or opposed allowing people to carry “concealed loaded guns” in public, we get this…

That’s a strong majority against, but not spectacularly so.

* Obviously, though, the public is opposed to most of the NRA’s agenda. By a 67-29 margin, they support a “ban on military style assault weapons.” 68 percent support and 28 percent oppose “limit ammunition magazines so only 10 rounds can be fired without
reloading.”

And some of these results are just off the charts.

For instance, by a whopping 93-6 they want “mandatory reporting to law enforcement when guns are lost or stolen.” And also by a huge 82-17 respondents say “All gun owners must register their guns and must notify the authorities when they sell or transfer their gun.”

After all those (and more) proposals are listed, half (300) of the respondents were asked…

Again, thinking about the elections for Illinois general assembly in 2014, are you more likely to vote for a candidate who supported a strong gun law with many of the additional proposals you just heard, or are you more likely to vote for a candidate who supported a weaker law with fewer restrictions, or would it make no difference?

Again, kinda loaded there.

Results…

* The other half (300) were asked this question…

Again, thinking about the elections for Illinois general assembly in 2014, are you more likely to vote for a candidate who supported a strong gun law that included background checks on all gun sales, or are you more likely to vote for a candidate who supported a gun law that did not include background checks on all gun sales, or would it make no difference?

The results…

Read the whole poll here.