www.chicagotribune.com
(excerpts)
"For the first time in his presidency, a majority of Illinois voters now hold an unfavorable opinion of President Bush and also disapprove of his performance in the White House, particularly his handling of the occupation of Iraq and an economy that many believe continues to lag, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.
. . .
"The poll of 600 likely registered voters, conducted May 21-24, shows Kerry with a commanding 16 percentage-point lead over Bush in a head-to-head November matchup--54 percent to 38 percent.
. . .
"The poll showed 52 percent of Illinois voters now say they have an unfavorable opinion of Bush compared with only 37 percent who look upon him favorably. In addition, 55 percent say they disapprove of the way he is handling the presidency.
. . .
"A similar poll taken just five months ago showed 51 percent of Illinois voters held a favorable attitude toward Bush while 40 percent disapproved. Back then, 49 percent of Illinois voters approved of the job Bush was doing as president while 42 percent did not.
. . .
BUSH'S JOB PERFORMANCE
Approve 37%
Disapprove 55%
No opinion 9%
PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE
Kerry 53%
Bush 37%
Nader 4%
Other 7%
BUSH'S HANDLING OF IRAQ SITUATION
Disapprove 61%
Approve 30%
No opinion 9%
FAVOR OR OPPOSE IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL OF US TROOPS FROM IRAQ?
Favor 53%
Oppose 35%
No opinion 12%
Margin of error +/-4 percentage points.