The April Power Poll results are in! Carol Marin & Mike Flannery talk about what they mean on the Power Poll podcast with Thom Serafin.

The results are in for the April Serafin Power Poll and this month we’re touching on a wide range of issues impacting the Chicago region. Our Pollers are sharing their thoughts on the increased interest in the recent NCAA women’s basketball tournament, the Chicago City Council, when the Kennedy Expressway would be completed, top issues impacting voters, and how new proposed legislation that would eliminate the tip credit at restaurants would impact tipping.

The Final Four and National Championship Game for NCAA Women’s Basketball was the most watched women’s game in history, an increase of 89% from last year’s championship game. It was the most-watched basketball (men’s or women’s, college or pro) since 2019. More than 18.9 million viewers tuned in for the Women’s game, vs 14.8 million for the Men’s. We asked participants if they watched any of the games and here are the results:

An overwhelming majority, with 62%, said they watched the games because “the women play a better brand of basketball.”

33% of Pollers said they didn’t watch the games at all.

Only 5% of Pollers said they preferred the men’s games because they’re “more competitive.”

Moving from women’s basketball to local politics, we wanted to find out if Power Pollers they thought Chicago City Council members are currently projecting a sense of confidence to Chicago residents, that they have a responsible handle on the city’s economic plight and growing needs. Sadly, there is not much confidence to be found.

0% said they did not think Chicago City Council is projecting a sense of confidence.

10% cited “sometimes, but it needs to be a lot better.”

The majority, 49%, said they do not have any confidence.

35% said they don’t have confidence often and it’s not good.

6% said they are uncertain and don’t know what the City Council is up to.

There are a lot of complaints coming from motorists these days about Chicago’s traffic. Phase 2 of the Kennedy Express construction is underway, and IDOT officials say it will impact major lane closures for the next eight months. But how is the public’s confidence in that projected timeline? Our Pollers weighed in.

22% of Pollers believed IDOT’s projection and think it will take eight months like they said.

33% of Pollers are assuming it will be more than a year.

28% believe that it will take twice as long as they estimated, potentially meaning upwards of a year and a half of traffic headaches.

Rounding out the votes are 17% suggesting “who can tell.”

From the economy to international conflicts, there’s no shortage of issues and concerns across the state and country right now. With only seven months to go until the presidential election, we asked our Pollers what they felt was the top issue on voters’ minds.

The whopping majority, 79%, said they felt the economy/inflation was the top issue.

Second was the border crisis, with 16% of the vote.

Education received 1% of the vote.

Three percent of those polled said the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, with 3% of the vote.

The Ukraine/Russia war only received 1% of the vote.

Healthcare received zero votes.

Our last question deals with proposed legislation in Springfield that would eliminate the tip credit and require all service employees statewide to earn a base wage of $14 an hour, the statewide minimum wage.  Chicago already has a similar measure that will be phased in this summer. Opponents of the bill say meal prices will go up, and restaurants may be forced to lay off workers. We asked, if this is enacted, how would it impact everyday tipping practices.

35% said they will continue to tip the same as before.

27% said they will tip less than they did before.

12% said they don’t plan to leave any tips at all.

26% of respondents cited it depended on the situation, like a dining tab vs a bar tab.

For this month’s poll, we are proud to support Golf for Life. This local nonprofit utilizes golf as a platform for developing life and spiritual value skills for youth. More than 1,000 young students have been part of the organization, which celebrates 20 successful years this summer.

A total of 775 Serafin Power Poll members were surveyed and the participation rate was 12.77%. The Serafin Power Poll is not a scientific poll, but rather a fascinating and non-partisan glimpse into the attitudes and opinions of the decision-makers and thought leaders in the Chicago region. See all Serafin Power Poll articles at serafin.com/powerpoll.