Only 19% of survey respondents said they “liked” Illinois, while 29% said they didn’t, making it the second least-popular state.
Public Policy Polling’s Dustin Ingalls told the Atlantic that Illinois was unpopular with Republicans and was likely dragged down in its overall ranking because President Obama lived there. Supporting his theory, the Examiner reports that 13% of “very conservative” poll respondents have high opinions of Illinois, compared with 48% of those who identify themselves as “very liberal.”
Politics aside, Illinois has a lot to brag about, according to Lonely Planet: the Bears, the Bulls, first-class architecture, lakefront beaches, Hemingway’s hometown and relics from the age of Abraham Lincoln.