ILLINOIS ISSUES ELECTION SURVEY

The issue upstate is reapportionment; and 'extra funds' are for tax relief

THIS is the third and final article based on Illinois Issues survey of all General Assembly candidates in 1980. This segment deals with views of candidates for the House in legislative districts 1-30. Of the 117 candidates running in these 30 districts in the northeast corner of the state, 69 (59 percent) responded to the survey: 35 Democrats (25 incumbents and 10 challengers) and 34 Republicans (20 incumbents and 14 challengers). Like the previous two parts in August and September magazines, this survey covers main areas of voter interest: limits on local and state spending, legislative goals, energy and the most important issue of 1981. Candidates were also asked a hypothetical question: "If the budget were balanced and there were 'extra' state funds, what would you want the state to do with them?"

THE REPUBLICANS are going to win the House; reapportionment is going to be the biggest issue — followed by taxes and the state budget — and tax relief is a possibility (if there are "extra funds" in the fiscal 1982 budget), according to candidates running for the House from legislative districts 1-30 in upstate Illinois.

After all the legislative candidate surveys are tallied, it appears the Republicans overwhelmingly believe they will win the House, and that Democrats are resigned to losing their majority. Of the Democrats from upstate districts, 47 percent thought the Republicans would win the House, and 13 percent didn't know if the Democrats could keep their edge in the House (see table 1). However, it also appears from survey results that the Democrats will keep control of the Senate.

In the upstate survey, reapportionment was predicted as the No. 1 issue for next spring, which agrees with the response from Senate candidates (see August Illinois Issues). Downstate House candidates, on the other hand, named economic development and loss of industry as the No. 1 issue (see September Illinois Issues). Other big issues (see table 2), according to the upstate House candidates, will be taxation (17 percent) and the budget (14 percent). Among the upstate Democrats, and incumbents of both parties, education was named as a big issue much more often than by downstate candidates, but downstate candidates gave education a higher priority for spending than the upstate candidates.

Tax relief was the No. 1 priority for spending "extra state funds" among downstate House candidates and again among upstate House candidates (see table 3). Education took a 13-point drop upstate as compared to downstate in competition for extra funds. And roads as a spending priority took a precipitous drop among upstate House candidates when compared to down-state candidates.

As in the Senate and downstate House survey, the Republicans — incumbents and challengers alike — in upstate House districts were very much in favor of limits on state spending. Upstate Democrats, however, were less enthusiastic than downstate Democratic candidates (see table 4).

For the first time in the survey, a

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12/October 1980/Illinois Issues

The issue upstate is reapportionment

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majority of Democrats were opposed to limits on local spending and by a significant margin (see table 5). Incumbent Democrats (80 percent) were especially against local limits, while the challengers (70 percent) were for local limits. Uncertainty on imposing limits on local governments was greater among upstate Republicans than among downstate Republicans, and 16 percent of the upstate Republican House candidates "weren't sure."

Analysis of candidates' reasons for or against limits on government shows a remarkable meshing of opinion. Most candidates who explained their answers disliked constitutional limits, but favored limits tied to income or some other economic index. All candidates — whether for or against limits — said essentially the same thing: that constitutional limits would hurt government in dealing with unexpected situations. And many candidates expressed concern that constitutional limits would result in cuts in essential government services.

On the issue of energy, coal was No. 1 among upstate House candidates as the resource which offers the best solution, but fewer upstate House candidates named coal than other legislative candidates (see table 6). Republican incumbents and Democratic challengers showed the greatest drift from coal (from 100 percent in previous surveys to less than two-thirds). Of course, Chicago and the northeast corner of Illinois have no coal mines. Among the other energy resources which would help solve the state and nation's problems, solar/gasohol alternatives and conservation measures were named almost equally by slightly more than one-third of the upstate House candidates. Nuclear took last place, with Republicans (18 percent) ahead of Democrats (11 percent).

— Caroline A. Gherardini
— John G. Martin