Is illinois conservative or liberal? (school, bias, compared, party)

[esamer90]

Politically and socially speaking, where does illinois stand? Especailly compared to California. Are most people there republicans or democrats? And is the lifestyle there free and liberal like cali, or is it more traditional or conservative like texas? or in between?

[sunnyandcloudydays]

The political trends over the years has leaned towards a blue stat.

I would probably feel pretty comfortable saying if you took cook county out of Illinois you would mainly be left with a red state.

No way is Illinois as conservative as Texas IMHO.

[Maintainschaos]

Chicago, portions of the Metro East, and usually the Champaign area are pretty strongly Democratic (especially Chicago); the rest of the state I would argue is probably moderate...a number of fiscal conservatives out there, definitely.

Now whether or not you equate Dems with liberals and Republicans with conservatives, that's a different story...Certainly even California isn't what many people would consider a true "liberal" state, and there are portions of CA that are very conservative. On the political spectrum, IL is much closer to CA than it is to TX, in my opinion (i.e. pretty Democratic leaning, but there are certainly a number of Republicans out there).

[linicx]

What one experiences in Illinois depends upon where one lives. Also Illinois is solidly Midwestern. It cannot be compared to Boston or Dallas or even the Bay area. Traditionally Illinois residents who live in cities located on large bodies of water tend to share views that are more forgiving than the views of those who live in isolated landlocked areas. I think the majority of city governments in Illinois are conservative with some to the extreme, but even then, it is not smothering like church run cities.

Illinois is not a 2 or 3 major denomination state. It fairly represents all from the most popular and most secular to the least of all. The same can be said of personal politics, as well as business and social affiliations.

I do not make blanket statements about Illinois as I have not lived in every area. I know where I can normally find very conservative pockets of voters. However, when it comes to national politics, it is wise to remember that not all vote as expected, and not all voters are raised with deliberate bias toward or against any political platform or any religious view.

[Fitnessnut1]

Are you serious??? Chicago is loaded with Liberals....lol. Dems run the city, always have.

[debbie at bouontiful]

Really!! I can't imagine a Republican surviving in Chicago. Must have heard Chicago Politics being mention more than few times. Now I lived in the Dairy country out in the Northwest area and they were all Republicans but their votes didn't get them much with Chicago running that State. Hugh property taxes which all went to Chicago. Take any State with high property taxes and you might be looking Democrat State. Not an expert so don't get down on me too much just an opinion.

[linicx]

Cook County Real Estate taxes stay in Cook County to support Cook County schools. Chicago Real Estate Taxes stay in Chicago to support Chicago schools. The largest proportion of Real Estate Tax is for schools. The balance of the State property tax is divided among services such as fire. police, hospitals, EMT, library, etc...

[cali3448893]

I got made fun of because i was a republican, im not a democrat!

[linicx]

I grew up in a mixed family. Dad was the republican and mother was the democrat. I heard it for 50 years before he died. The one thing I did not hear was the name calling, lies and negative insults. The one thing I quickly learned is if you don't want to get picked on don't talk party platform or personal politics. It will antagonize someone somewhere.

[cali3448893]

Originally Posted by linicx

I grew up in a mixed family. Dad was the republican and mother was the democrat. I heard it for 50 years before he died. The one thing I did not hear was the name calling, lies and negative insults. The one thing I quickly learned is if you don't want to get picked on don't talk party platform or personal politics. It will antagonize someone somewhere.

Thanks but dont worry i already learned my own mistake!