CHICAGO (Aug. 7, 2025) – The Illinois Policy Institute’s newest Lincoln Poll finds Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s approval rating has flipped negative for the first time since the poll started, with 50.2% of voters viewing him unfavorably and just 47.2% favorably.

The shift in Pritzker’s popularity is since late January, when a slim majority of voters still approved of his job performance. The new poll also pointed to a potential source of voter disapproval: taxes.

Illinoisans overwhelmingly cited high taxes as the most pressing issue facing the state, followed by concerns about state governance, the economy and crime. Since Pritzker took office, Illinois taxes have increased nearly $5,000 for a family of four.

“These favorability numbers are not good for someone considering a presidential run. Even among liberals, he is down over 8 percentage points since the start of the year,” said Mark Batinick, policy advisor for the Illinois Policy Institute. “Illinoisans are beginning to recognize that the state’s challenges are being made worse by aggressive tax hikes, excessive spending and financial mismanagement.

The governor has recently drawn scrutiny for signing legislation that significantly increases Chicago’s pension burden, adding $11.1 billion in new liabilities. At the same time, his new fiscal year 2026 budget set a spending record and raised taxes by an additional $482 million, further straining Illinois families and businesses already facing a heavy tax load.

Pritzker has grown Illinois’ budget by $16 billion and enacted over 50 tax hikes since taking office in 2019.

The Lincoln Poll was conducted for the Illinois Policy Institute by M3 Strategies, which surveyed 752 likely voters in Illinois from July 15-18, with a +/- 3.57 percentage point margin of error.

Poll toplines are available here.

To read more about the Lincoln Poll, visit illin.is/pritzkerpoll.

For bookings or interviews, contact media@illinoispolicy.org or (312) 607-4977.