Illinois may be Midwestern island of distrust, but few think much of Trump

We’ve now endured just over a year of Donald J. Trump as our nation’s president and have even seen the sight of the Orange one delivering a State of the Union address.

Does anybody like Donald Trump?

What does it say that only 38 percent of the public approves of his performance – far less than most past presidents. Even Barack Obama, who at this point in his presidency had a 57 percent majority of the people approving of him.

THE GALLUP ORGANIZATION showed a state-by-state breakdown this week of what we think of the Trump administration.

We here in Illinois give the man a 33 percent approval rating, slightly lower than the national average and less than all the surrounding states.

But it probably should be noted that even in places like Indiana, Iowa, Missouri Wisconsin, Trump does not exceed 50 percent approval amongst those that Gallup surveyed.

In the land of Hoosiers, a place that gave Trump Mike Pence as his vice president and a place that Trump likes to praise as a model for what Illinois and Chicago ought to try to be like, Trump only gets a 44 percent approval rating.

IN FACT, ONLY 12 of the 50 states give Trump a 50 percent-or-more approval. The only one of those anywhere near to us is Kentucky (51 percent) – which borders up against the southern end of Illinois, but is a land where the locals like to point out that they’re closer physically and in spirit to places like Jackson, Miss., than to Chicago.

Pence presence not enough to make Hoosiers like Trump

I’m sure on some level, these figures will bother Trump – although I’m sure he’ll come up with some nonsense rhetoric intended to make it appear as though the American people adore him.

Will it rival Sally Field’s Oscar acceptance of 1985. “You like me, you really like me.” Which sounded cutesy and adorable coming from the “Places in the Heart” actress, but would most likely sound insipid coming from Melania’s husband.

As for Illinois, the notion of a 62 percent disapproval rating sounds right, although I’m sure rural parts of central Illinois won’t want to believe it.

Did we really like her?

THEY’RE THE PARTS of Illinois that Gov. Bruce Rauner is relying upon if he’s to have any chance of winning a second term in his office. But for the statewide disapproval to be that high probably means a Chicago disapproval is in the 80s (percentile).

That’s just a guess on my part. But it would appear accurate, particularly since Trump used his first year in office to make more than his share of barbs against our home city. This would be payback.

We wouldn’t have any love lost for a foul-mouthed man who besmirched our otherwise elegant urban skyline with that self-promoting, not-quite-1,400-foot-tall structure that has the feel of a bully trying to overpower its surroundings.

Will we someday sing similar praises to Obama?

I know there are those who will try to claim Chicago is some sort of aberration not only in the nation but particularly with the Midwest.

BUT THEN YOU look at the Gallup findings and show that the man known as Trump isn’t really that beloved anyplace. In Iowa (52 percent disapproval), Michigan or Wisconsin (both 55 percent disapproval) or Minnesota (58 percent disapproval).

The blowhard’s rhetoric has worn thin, and we’re possibly stuck with three more years of his administration.

It almost seems as though a new generation will be singing the question, “Where have you gone, Barack Obama?” just as Simon and Garfunkel once lyrically pondered the same of Joe DiMaggio. That fact, I’m sure, would be the biggest blow to the Trump ego and the sensibilities of those who voted for him.

Is this really our nation's only hope?

As for the rest of us? We can wonder about the future (a la the sensibilities of Matt Groening); one in which a "President Lisa Simpson" bails us out, with the help of her ne'er-do-well brother, Bart.

  -30-

A DAY IN THE LIFE (of Chicago): In Land of Lincoln, we’re now No. 6

I’ll have to confess to being a little shocked when I learned of the latest U.S. Census Bureau’s latest estimates of population. That’s the one that says Illinois, with its 12.802 million people, is now smaller than Pennsylvania’s 12.805 million.

Which means Illinois is now the sixth largest of the 50 U.S. states. We’re no longer in the Top 5!

WHAT IS SURPRISING about that? I have to confess. I thought we already were Number 6. When I first heard of reports saying we were out of the Top 5, my reaction was “What else is new?”

Perhaps it was all those years of political reporting that had me thinking there were five other states with more Electoral College votes than Illinois. Five states with more political influence than ours.

Although we were still amongst the top of the Great Lakes states. In fact, we’re still at the head of those states in population. Although it should be noted that Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota all experienced slight increases in population – according to the latest Census Bureau estimates.

Are we headed for a point some five or six decades from now that Illinois will be just another mass of the states whose lifeblood relies on lakes such as Superior, Erie and Michigan, to name a few?

IT SHOULD BE noted that it was my mistake to take the Electoral College too seriously on this issue. Because the number of electors a state gets doesn’t always coincide with the number of residents. Smaller states get more than they ought to, even the ones that get the bare minimum of three.

Whereas Illinois’ electoral problem has always been a matter of the state’s population not growing enough to warrant more representation. Take the early 1930s when the state peaked at 27 electors, compared to the 19 it now has (and 18 it could be reduced to following the 2020 population count).

Back then, Illinois had 7.63 million people total (with nearly half living within the Chicago city limits). Yet despite having 5.3 million more residents now, we get eight fewer electors. There are entire states that have the same political representation.

So aside from having fewer people living in Illinois, what else is notable to people living along the southwest shores of Lake Michigan?

DECLARING VICTORY AFTER A LOSS?!?: President Donald Trump is going around claiming he killed off the healthcare reform plan that was a major part of President Barack Obama’s legacy – even though the measure remains in federal law and is likely to never be formally repealed.

TRUMP: Winner; or loser?

It seems the tax overhaul bill (all $1.5 trillion of it) includes provisions that eliminate the penalties people are charged if they do not have health insurance. Which was the provision meant to encourage people to use the Affordable Care Act.

Meaning he’s made it possible for people to ignore the law requiring people to have some sort of health insurance. Of course, Trump has made a mess that complicates the situation for those people who want to get health coverage, but can’t afford to do so without the subsidies that Affordable Care helped provide.

Trump’s victory declaration will appease his own ego, and I’m sure he’ll claim it gives him a legacy of his own. Although most likely, it is nothing more than political spin gone wild.

CHICAGO’S STINK NOW COMES FROM ‘DA BEARS’: It’s a good thing that professional football’s Pro Bowl – the end-of-season all-star game – is one that football fans care less about.

Because for the third straight season, there won’t be any members of the Chicago Bears playing in the game that is supposed to represent the best football has to offer. Then again, a team with a 4-10 record (with two games remaining) surprisingly doesn’t have anybody worthy of all-star status.

So there’s definitely no reason for Bears fans to care about the game to be played Jan. 28, 2018 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. I can’t even envision the players caring much.

Because at least in the old days, the Pro Bowl’s appeal was that it was played in Honolulu, Hawaii – a locale that added an exotic touch to bring a season of football to an end. Somehow, a corporate-named stadium near Disney World just doesn’t have the same touch.

  -30-