In our initial post on the citywide poll conducted for SEIU Illinois in late March, we highlighted the data suggesting a majority of Chicagoans disapprove of the job Mayor Daley is doing and think the city is on the wrong track.  So what is the public's view of the City Council?

At first glance, the numbers are devastating. Only 19 percent of respondents approved of the job being done by the city's aldermen, with 71 percent giving the body a negative rating:

What's fascinating is that, despite holding the collected aldermen in such low regard, 71 percent of respondents agreed that the "City Council should have a bigger role in how to spend the rainy day funds in Chicago," referring to the estimated $2.1 billion in unobligated funds identified by SEIU's researchers.  The poll also found that 76 percent of respondents would like both the mayor and the City Council to "be in charge of how these funds are spent," rather than just one or the other.  This goes back to the strong agreement among 90 percent of the respondents that "Mayor Daley should be questioned because he is not always right."

The take-away seems to be this: The public is giving the City Council a bad grade not because of what it's doing, but because of what it's failing to do (i.e. provide a counter-balance to the mayor).

Another striking finding: 91 percent of respondents agreed that it is "important to have a progressive voice at the table when important issues are being discussed in Chicago, with 75 percent strongly agreeing. This suggests that the "progressive" brand is one worth embracing at the municipal level.

Already, the council is showing some signs that intends to be more assertive on the issue of city spending.  The TIF sunshine ordinance -- which would finally open the books on Daley's shadowy tax increment financing system -- passed unanimously today.  And the Sun-Times reported today that aldermen are demanding a 30-day review period before the city sells assets valued at more than $100 million -- a concerted effort to prevent a replay of the parking meter debacle.  

Next up, I'll take a look at what the poll found regarding city spending priorities.

The telephone survey was commissioned by the SEIU Illinois State Council and conducted by Bennett, Petts, & Normington from March 23-25, 2009. The sampling error for the survey is +/- 4.3%.

Full disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council sponsors this website.