Is Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn the Worst Governor in the Nation?

Yes, according to a well-known polling firm, he is

Illinois' Democratic Governor Pat Quinn has the dishonor of being the least popular governor in the country, according to a well-known polling outfit.

Politico reports that survey firm Public Policy Polling is calling Quinn "the most unpopular Governor PPP has polled on anywhere in the country this year," citing his embarrassingly low approval rating of 25%, and his 64% disapproval rating.

"If Pat Quinn is the Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2014, Democrats may have a hard time holding onto the office," writes PPP's Tom Jensen, who notes the governor's extraordinarily low ratings even among members of his own party.

Quinn's been on the outs with Illinois state employees recently over his proposed pension cuts and other austerity measures. His likening of said cuts to Abraham Lincoln's efforts to end slavery have also attracted criticism, far from surprisingly.

Via Politico.

Does Gov. Quinn deserve such a lousy approval rating?

[Pokeyman1]

why do you want to bring in more people when there is not enough funds for residents now

[Keaadada]

I'd put Walker of Wisconsin against anyone. He's about as slimy as the come.

[bsking]

still is probably the best Illinois can get.

[martydotcom]

what next " Free Blago ????"

[marine1]

our goverment is bases on Caponeology, we the people are of the soup kitchen mentality/

[Sabio]

let them have oblamey back, we dont want him.

[bsking]

@martydotcom no, "jail obama"

[Dan_Tien]

So he is unpopular recently over his proposed pension cuts and other austerity measures? Then if Democrats won't vote for him, maybe Republicans will... unless they work for the government.

[bsking]

but then again Illinois has a longstanding history with unsavory Democrat politicians

[MarkJM]

Illinois sure knows how to pick em'. Quinn is no different than the other string of "fine individuals" that were picked....This is what the Chicago thug mentality does to the political arena.

[MRMacrum]

I did not vote because I do not live in Illinois. As far as I am concerned, what people outside his state think has no bearing. As far as the worst governor at the moment I can think of, my choice would be the current governor of Maine, the state I live in. Gov. Paul LePage is a liar and useless as a leader in my opinion. I hope we can make him just a one term governor. We'll see come mid terms.

[mtkopf]

Thank you for defending the state of Illinois my home.

[John_Matrix]

@mtkopf

You can't deny that literally every governor Illinois manages to elect recently hasn't been a complete piece of shit. It's been one scandal after another topped off with no progress of any kind. I lived in Illinois for 22 years and would've stayed if all the jackasses in Coles county didn't fuck it up for the rest of the state.

[mtkopf]

@John_Matrix I totally agree with you. I also believe that speaker mike madigan is a big part of the problem. He has had too much power for too long and he is wielding all that power now.

[DARSB]

I have no idea if he deserves the rating (Arizona's Jan Brewer might be a contender, too) but if there's doubt about a politician always assume the worst.

It's like when I was a kid: my dad would sometimes just walk up and slap me on top of the head. I'd say, "What was that for?" and he'd answer, "I don't know, yet."

[dances-weebles]

didn't anybody ever tell him that it would make you go bald early? they should have.

[mtkopf]

My dad must have been in the same parenting class. I would get punched in the arm for just in case I do something he doesn't find out about.

[NO-BAMA]

The American people "voted" for Barry again so they can get their daily dose of socialistic failure, so come election time this twit will remain in office.
Just imagine the hoards of dead people and ills/imaginary folks that will vote for him. The unions will be given "something extra" for staying loyal through the election,(more taxes for the rest of the state.
Illinois will continue to follow the path of CA and NY.
Way to go liberals.
Remember, you get what you vote. Don't blat and cry later because your Utopian promises never came true.

[MRMacrum]

No. The citizens of Illinois voted for Pat Quinn. Take it up with them.

[NO-BAMA]

@MRMacrum Exactly. The dead/illegals/imaginary voters elected this guy. They will do it again so the "compassionate" libs/democrats can continue with the same destructive behavior that's plaguing the state right now.
Its a 3 way race,(NY, CA, IL) to see who implodes first with the "wonderful" tax and spend mentalities of these people.
".....just tax them and say its for the kids...they wont dare question us if we throw the children into the mix....because we know best on how to spend other peoples money....foodstamps for all and schools that don't educate, that's how we keep control of the unworthy ones in society....." Nice philosophy from the left huh?

[mtkopf]

Blago and George Ryan created the mess that Quinn is trying to clean up. One dem and one repub but both in jail.

[mtkopf]

@NO-BAMA you living in Camden NY makes you an expert on Illinois politics. Until you live it everyday don't pretend you know what you are talking about. Oh yeah i forgot conservatives know everything there is to know on every topic out there.

[MRMacrum]

@NO-BAMA - I have to say that your philosophy of hating anything left of center is "quite the philosophy". Right or Left does not in and of itself indicate the wrong way. Instead of concentrating on how different the means are, maybe all of us should be concentrating on how we can come to some agreements on what the goals are and then discuss how we get there.

[crusader]

The last honest politician from the Land of Lincoln was Lincoln. Blago was possibly the least corrupt of all the politicians from there.

[crusader]

How many of their former governors have spent time in prison, I think it is 3 of the last 5.

[FFX_VA]

Illinois deserves better, problem is the state is full of Democrates who keep electing these guys. I'll never move back, the tax you to death there.

[woodtick57]

We have pretty high taxes in MN here, but we also have one of the highest standards of living. Don't you think the two are related?

[FFX_VA]

@woodtick57 Last I knew, which was some time ago, MN was better run than IL, better fishing too! That probably has more of an effect on the std of living (the mgt part that is, not the fishing... well maybe the fishing too). But back to IL, it's been said for years Cook County should be its own State sep from the rest of IL, its more of a drain than a contributor.

[woodtick57]

So making the public employees contracts viable so tey get to keep teir jobs makes im unpopular? it is a sad, sad world we live in...

[woodtick57]

ooops it post before correcting for my 'g' and 'h' key errors...

Any techies out there? can I get a new keyboard on a laptop? Is it worth it or should i just buy a new one?

[Dan_Tien]

@woodtick57 Buy a new one, unless you want to buy an external keyboard and plug it in. Nobody really fixes electronics anymore, and if they try you can bet there is no guarantee with it.

[woodtick57]

@Dan_Tien

thanx Dan. it is 5 yrs old...but im the kind of guy that uses things till they dissolve into individual molecules if i can...

I do have a keyboard for my Sony tablet, can I hook that up to this hp laptop?

[Dan_Tien]

@woodtick57 If it has a USB connector you can give it a try and find out.

[woodtick57]

@Dan_Tien

no, it hooks up to my tablet by wifi or whatever magical elves and unicorns carry through the a/ether..? no ports at all. can my laptop pick that up?

[Sharpshooter]

When did POPULAR become a measure of performance for leaders?

Axelshaft's boy is incredibly popular, he hangs out in Hollywood with people who have to be popular in order to survive and is learning well how to be popular yet ineffectual.

Harry Truman and Abraham Lincoln were both VERY unpopular but have proven to be among the most effective and influential Presidents of all time.

The story is a joke, he's the worst because he's not popular. I sincerely hope the American Political System hasn't deteriorated to the point where popularity is the measure of success.

[Malitia_Man]

Well from what I have seen, the guy clearly is a Social-Communist! His state wide 'Assault Weapons Ban' just failed dramatically, and just this past year he tried to make it illegal to film the police!!! That right there is enough to show me his police-state intentions, and makes me dispose him as a human being!

[mtkopf]

Once again another conservative making crap up. The law about AUDIO taping an officer was ALREADY on the books. It was ruled to be illegal by the courts. VIDEO taping officers was ALWAYS legal.

[mtkopf]

Quinn inherited a fiscal nightmare from Blagoyevich who inherited only some of the mess from George Ryan. One dem one repubboth in jjail.
Quinn has tried to solve crisis through raising taxes AND cuts in spending. The problem is Illinois had a pension nightmare on its hands. For literally decades, both dems and repubs have been raiding the state pension system to pay for things we didn't need and could not afford. Further, eben if someone serves a post for 30 days, they get a huge pension. We have some pols getting a city state and county pensions. Hell mayor Daley wound up with $5 million dollars when he left.
The reasons that Quinn is so unpopular:
He had no leadership skills
Not a great public speaker
He's cut the budget AND raised taxes
He's trying to reform pension system
He doesn't get along with the 3 most powerful dems in the state Mike madigan Daley and Emmanuel.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

Bailouts for all the blue cities are coming...as well as for the blue states.

The United States of Greece! LOL!

[mimi57]

Is he better than Cuomo? Is he worse than Christie? He's an Illinois Governor...I'd say that puts him in the running,
he's in his element of worst , but he has a lot of stiff competition...

[jessejaymes]

While I am not generally anti union for the private sector this has gotten completely out of hand with govt union people. Every time I am forced to deal with govt I find obese, rude, slovenly arrogant people. Notice I do not use the word workers since it has been some time since I can honestly say that I've found a govt employee actually working. This includes city , county, state and federal employees. How many shovels can they metaphorically lean on? Millions apparently. I'm reminded of Linda Tripp of Monica Lewinsky fame who landed a job as a "tour guide"of the pentagon for over 90,000.00 a year. a 20 year teacher can't make 90,000.00 a year but a tour guide can?

[kathyparsell]

JESSE,Jesse... Don't you know by now the reason we are in this mess is because of the Rich(demo) and the Poor(repb). If we just tax the rich and take services from the poor AND give the government some more money and the country will be restored. If you try to take away from the government you won't have friends any more! Think how lonely you would be then.

[Quiver12345]

Illinois is in deep shit, especially after blago. Take it from a person who lives in Illinois he is doing the best job of any Illinois governor in a long while.

[Sillpchs]

I am from Illinois and he is horrible. He goes back and forth on everything he stands for, losing even democratic support. The last election was 50-50 for weeks until the Republican candidate yielded so I am sure he won't win again.

[RedSoloCup]

Yes! He's this state's own personal Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown.