Simon poll: Support grows for tax on smokes

By Rob Crow, The Southern thesouthern.com Posted: Friday, March 11, 2011 4:00 am

CARBONDALE - Southern Illinoisans want state spending cuts made and don't want their sales and income taxes raised, according to results from the latest Southern Illinois Poll. But there is one area where they are willing to see a tax increase.

More than 60 percent of respondents said they would approve of the cigarette tax being raised by $1 per pack. Such an idea was rejected earlier in the year by the General Assembly.

The poll was conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and it surveyed 400 registered voters in the state's 18 southernmost counties. Charles Leonard, visiting professor and polling director at the institute, said legislators may want to pay attention to the results when it comes to a cigarette tax.

"The state is desperately trying to fill gaps, and you're not going to find 60 percent support for anything else that will raise more than $300 million," Leonard said.

Only 26 percent of respondents were in favor of raising the state sales tax, and 64 percent disapproved of the recent income tax hike. Nearly 60 percent said the state can solve its budget woes by cutting waste, with no extra revenue increases - a scenario Leonard considered highly unlikely.

"I'm always a little surprised when an area as dependent on state spending as Southern Illinois is calls for cuts in state spending," Leonard said. "But, of course, we're always calling for cuts in other areas."

Related: Full Results of Simon Poll