Economy, Inflation Top Election Issues For IL Patch Readers: Survey

ILLINOIS — It's almost that time again: Time to head to the polls and cast your ballots in another Illinois primary. And as the June 28 primary approaches, voters in the Land of Lincoln have money on their minds.

Whether they said they were Republicans, Democrats, Independent or affiliated with another party, most of the nearly 2,000 who took part in Patch's pre-election poll listed the economy as their top issue.

Other issues on voters' minds regardless of their political stance were inflation, as well as climate change and education.

Here's how the responses to Patch's poll broke down along party lines.

Of those who responded, 37 percent identified themselves as Republicans, 34 percent said they are Independent, 26.2 percent said they are Democrats and the remaining 2.8 percent said they belong to a party not listed in Patch's poll.

Regardless of party, 52.7 percent of those who responded described themselves as "highly enthusiastic" about voting in 2022, while another 20.5 percent were "somewhat enthusiastic. Sixteen percent were somewhat "meh," saying they are neither enthusiastic nor unenthusiastic, while 5.8 percent were "highly unenthusiastic." Another 5 percent were "somewhat unenthusiastic" about upcoming elections.

When it came to what voters identified as their most important issue or concern, there wasn't a huge split among party lines — among respondents from each party, most of those who responded cited the economy as their top priority.

But there was more variety in terms of what Patch readers from each party saw as the second- and third-most important issues, and climate change seemed most important to Democrats, Independents and those who said they belonged to another party not listed.

Affordable housing, meanwhile, seemed to be a bigger concern of those who did not claim a party affiliation.

Readers were asked to rank their first-, second- and third-most important issues from these options:

• The economy
• Climate change
• The opioid crisis
• Affordable housing
• COVID-19 response, including vaccine and mask mandates
• Education
• Police reform
• Inflation

Here's how the responses to Patch's poll broke down.

Responses from Republicans

Most important issue: The largest chunk of Republicans who responded, or 52.7 percent, said the economy is the most pressing issue in the 2022 elections. Another 38.1 said it's inflation, while 3.9 percent said it's education.

Second most important issue: 42.5 percent of Republicans who responded said inflation is their second-biggest concern, followed by 35.3 percent who said their second priority is the economy and 9.8 percent who said it's education.

Third most important issue: 34.1 percent of those who responded listed education is their third most pressing issue, followed by 15 percent who cited inflation, and 13.2 percent pointed to the COVID-19 response, including mask mandates.

Responses from Democrats

Most important issue: Most self-identified Democrats, or 34.4 percent of those who responded, listed their most important issue as the economy, while 22 percent said it's climate change. Another 16.9 percent said the most pressing issue is inflation.

Second most important issue: 23.5 percent said their second most pressing issue is the economy, while 22.8 percent said inflation was the second-biggest issue, and 12.5 percent said police reform is their second most-pressing concern.

Third most important issue: Here, 19.8 percent of Democrats who responded said education is the third most pressing concern in 2022 elections. But 18.1 percent said the third-biggest issue is climate change, and 14.2 percent said it's police reform.

Responses from Independents

Most important issue: 44.3 percent of those who responded named the economy as their top concern, followed by 33.3 percent who said inflation and 8.2 percent who said climate change.

Second most important issue: 33.8 percent said the economy is their second most pressing issue, while a close 33 percent said inflation and 12.8 percent said education.

Third most important issue: 27.8 percent said education is their third most important concern, followed by 16.8 percent who said the economy and 13.1 percent who cited the COVID-19 response.

Responses from those affiliated with other parties

Most important issue: 44 percent of these respondents said the economy is their top issue, followed by 36 percent who said inflation and 6 percent who said education.

Second most important issue: 42 percent said inflation, followed by 32 percent who cited the economy and 8 percent who said affordable housing.

Third most important issue: 32 percent said education, 18 percent said inflation and the third most common answer was split: 16 percent each said the economy and COVID-19 response were their third most important issues.

Other concerns

Patch also asked readers to tell us any election priorities they have that weren't on the list. Here, there was some variety among the most-cited issues based on party, although members of all political affiliations listed crime as a concern.

The most common concerns cited by self-identified Democrats were gun control, health care and crime.

For Republicans, many said they consider illegal immigration a pressing issue, while others said taxes and crime.

Those who said they are Independent cited crime, voting rights and taxes among their top concerns not listed on Patch's survey.

Those who said they belong to a party not listed by Patch most commonly pointed to abortion and taxes as their chief concerns.

Illinois Elections: Important Dates

While Illinois typically holds its primaries in March, lawmakers voted in 2021 to shift the 2022 primaries to June 28, in part to give them more time to redraw district maps using Census data.

Other dates to know:

May 13: Last day to register to receive a mail-in ballot

• May 19: Early in-person voting begins
• June 12: Last day to register online to vote (residents can register in person through election day on June 28).
• June 23: Mail-in ballots must be received by this date (and must be postmarked before this date)
• June 28: Primary election day. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.