Public Opinion Polling
The Paul Simon Institute's public opinion polls addressed Illinois voters’ opinions on important current public policy topics, typically with a focus on state budget issues, political and electoral reform, politics, and social issues.
The Simon Poll™ of registered voters in Illinois was conducted from 2008 to 2020. In addition to helping chart public opinion for policymakers, graduate students used the polling to include questions useful to them in their papers, dissertations, and research projects.
A range of public policy issues is present in the collection. Issues include primary and general elections, potential political reforms, political polarization, immigration, elected officials’ approval ratings, public disclosure and corruption, Illinois budget and pensions, guns and society, and social issues, such as abortion, marriage rights, and medical marijuana. Standard demographic data are also included.
Data Indexes
All poll materials are also available at:- OPENSIUC
- ODUM Institute Dataverse Network
- OPENICPSR (Search Simon PollTM or the Southern Illinois Poll)
Simon Poll
Want to know more? Check out the poll results from recent years
The Southern Illinois Poll
Want to know more? Check out Southern Illinois' public opinion
American Association for Public Opinion Research’s (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative
The American Association for Public Opinion Research’s (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative recognizes the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute as a member. Membership in the Initiative signals the highest level of disclosure and professional ethics in our Simon PollTM. We are pleased to join AAPOR in working toward the goal of an open science of survey research.
Learn more about the Transparency Initiative