Progress Illinois

Illinois voters have had enough of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but they’re not convinced he’s going to leave quietly, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey released today:

Eighty-four percent (84%) of Illinois voters say indicted Governor Rod Blagojevich should resign, according to a telephone survey in the state Wednesday night. Just nine percent (9%) disagree.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) say Blagojevich should end up in jail.

Despite the strong desire for the governor to resign, only 18% believe he is Very Likely to step down. Another 22% say a resignation is Somewhat Likely.

Not suprisingly, the state’s latest political scandal appears to have only deepened mistrust among voters. Additional Rasmussen polling out today found that 66 percent of those surveyed want a special election to decide for themselves who fills Illinois’ vacant Senate seat. Meanwhile, 21 percent said that Blagojevich or his successor should make an appointment. Another 13 percent were undecided.

A plurality of Democratic respondents (32 percent) lined up behind Attorney General Lisa Madigan as their favorite to succeed Obama. The poll found that Rep. Jan Schakowsky had the support of 7 percent of those Democrats surveyed and 10 percent of all respondents. Meanwhile, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was the most favored candidate in a Rasmussen poll released last week (with 36 percent favoring him), has seen his support cut in half since the Blagojevich arrest. Rasmussen suggests this puts Democrats in a bind:

Jackson’s plunging numbers pose a delicate problem for Democrats since the African-American community, perhaps the party’s most loyal base, has been insisting that a candidate such as Jackson or Jones succeed Obama, who was the only black U.S. senator.

But it's only a “delicate problem” if the seat is ultimately filled by appointment. If there is a special election -- as President-elect Obama and Sen. Durbin have proposed -- then it’s a moot point.