Chicago Sun-Times

Lightfoot’s approval rating at 75% in recent poll

Approval rating 1 year into office ‘pretty close to the vote she got’

- FRAN SPIELMAN

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been on the defensive against those who contend that she protected downtown against looting and mayhem at the expense of Chicago neighborho­ods.

Aldermen have accused the mayor of being caught flatfooted by violent protests she should have anticipate­d, then belatedly imposing a curfew and sealing off downtown. They say that paved the way for the destructio­n to spill out into South and West side neighborho­ods.

If the mayor’s popularity takes a hit because of the allegation­s, Lightfoot apparently can afford it.

A poll conducted in late May for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition showed Lightfoot’s favorabili­ty rating at a sky-high 77% and her job approval rating at 75%.

The Chicago sample of the statewide poll by Global Strategy Group, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s pollster, was a relatively small 126 people. That means the margin for error is plus or minus 8 percentage points.

But even if Lightfoot loses 8 percentage points, she would still be in rare air for a bigcity mayor who has endured countless controvers­ies during her first year in office.

On April 2, 2019, Lightfoot swept all 50 wards on the way to a 73.7% landslide over Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkl­e.

If the new poll is right, she has held her ground since then — even after enduring a teachers strike, eliminatin­g an $838 million budget shortfall, firing a police superinten­dent and leading the city through a pandemic.

Peter Giangreco, a veteran Democratic political strategist, does communicat­ions for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. He also advised Susana Mendoza’s losing mayoral campaign against Lightfoot.

Giangreco said he’s stunned that Lightfoot’s numbers a year in are “pretty close to the vote she got.”

“Usually what happens with big-city mayors or governors or presidents is you get a little bit of a honeymoon period, then your numbers dip. Especially when you start as high as she did in the 70s. Nobody stays there,” Giangreco said.

“The events of this last week notwithsta­nding, through a lot of tough times — a long, hot summer of crime and all of the other challenges that they’ve faced over a whole year — her numbers didn’t erode.”

Before the poll, Giangreco believed Lightfoot’s landslide had more to do with “people voting against Toni” because of her ties to indicted Ald. Edward Burke (14th) than for Lightfoot.

“She has consolidat­ed all of the people who voted for her, plus all of the people who didn’t want to vote for Toni into a bloc that she owns,” Giangreco said.

“If you had asked me a year ago, do you think she keeps up these numbers, I would have said next to impossible. The events of the last week may have had a negative impact on these numbers.

“But it’s amazing that her numbers are this high, given the teachers strike, the long hot summer where crime had spiked, the continuing fiscal problems the city has. You would have thought the honeymoon was over, and that’s not the case.”

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition is a group of businesses, labor unions, environmen­tal groups and faith leaders pushing an act that calls for closing coal plants, the pollution equivalent of getting 1 million cars off the road and 100% renewable energy by 2050.

The poll was conducted May 18-22. In addition to questions about the still-pending Illinois Clean Jobs Act, respondent­s were asked extensive questions about the pandemic.

More than anywhere else in the state, Chicagoans surveyed want to take a go-slower approach to reopening the economy. They’re much more concerned about another spike in COVID-19 cases.

That tells Giangreco the strong persona Lightfoot has built in leading the city through the pandemic — shutting off the lakefront, cutting off citywide liquor sales and driving around the city breaking up large groups — has boosted her popularity.

“She’s almost like the aunt you had down the street. You respected her, even if she was grabbing you by the ear and telling you you were doing something wrong,” Giangreco said.

Lightfoot political director Dave Mellett acknowledg­ed the sample size is small. But Mellett said Lightfoot’s numbers are “not far from what we saw” during polling done before the March primary.

“Across the country, a lot of leaders demonstrat­ing strong leadership during the COVID crisis have seen even better numbers than they have before everything started. [New York Gov.] Andrew Cuomo and Mayor [Bill] de Blasio are two examples,” he said.

Chicagoans, you can now elimi-nate your knee pain with a hot new pain cure.

Imagine... go shopping, walking or jogging, gardening, going to church, playing with your grand-children, or going golfing without knee pain... Do all of the things you used to enjoy and... get your life back free of knee pain.

Not only is it possible, thousands of Chicagolan­d Boomers and Se-niors with knee pain have experi-enced the amazing relief this new non-surgical treatment option provides. It’s like taking 30 years of wear and tear off your knees - in less than 30 minutes!

“I didn’t know how much LIFE and SLEEP I was missing because of my knee pain, until it went away with this wonderful treatment.” — George R.

So What Is Causing My Knee Pain And How Do I Stop It?

It’s pretty simple, really. You see, when you’re young, you have a thick, fluid protein inside your knee joints to lubricate them as you move.

This fluid also acts as a cushion and shock absorber inside your knee. It’s called synovial fluid, and it works much like the oil in a car’s engine to keep all the parts mov-ing freely, without friction. However, as you age, this fluid dries out, leaving your bones to painfully rub and grind against each other with every step. And unfortunat­ely, there’s no way for the knee to make more.

After years of working perfectly, your knee starts to feel a subtle ache with certain activities like using stairs, kneeling down, or getting out of the car. With time, it becomes a constant ache. If left untreated, it can keep you awake at night, and hurt with every step.

But Should You Consider Surgery?

Maybe you’re thinking about knee replacemen­t surgery. It’s a popular option that has been around for a while now. But, do you really want to lay in bed for weeks with the possibilit­y of still being in pain after? We’ve seen many patients still hurting for years after knee replacemen­t sur-gery. It’s not a 100% guarantee that you’ll be pain-free.

The good news is, researcher­s have discovered all natural, lubricatin­g fluid called Hyaluronic acid that is nearly identical to the fluid we have in our knees. It has been proven in numerous clinical studies to act as a natural lubricant in your joints.

It’s FDA approved and is a perfect cushion and shock absorber for your joints. In fact, it’s even been compared to letting your sore joints rest on the softest down pillow. It’s almost as if your knee sighes with relief and relaxation.

Sounds Nice But My Knees Aren’t That Bad...

Sure, you can put up with this ache in your knee, but the cost of doing nothing about it is HUGE. “Every day was hard. I couldn’t en-joy my favorite activities anymore. But thankfully, now I’m back in full form. I am doing yard work for the first time in years!” — Phil M.

Seriously, you can get the knee pain relief you are looking for without wasting your precious time recoveryin­g or even spending a dime!

But, there is a HUGE problem:

if the it This troubled is administer­ed treatment tissues will precisely in ONLY the knees. work into If this off those treatment areas is it delivered will never slightly help you. received This is why treatments a lot of like people orthovisc have or had Synvisc any pain in relief. the past A lot and of never them went needed on to in have the surgery first place. they never

In fact, a recent study looked at trained doctors who administer those kinds of injections blindly found that a third of them miss those specific areas in the joints. So, those patients walked away not knowing that whatever treatment they received will never have a chance to work because it completely missed the trouble areas.

This is why the doctors at Joint Relief Institute use advanced im-aging in addition to an unique double confirmati­on technique to guarantee that every single injection administer­ed ends up in the right place. Taking the precision further to a double confirmati­on technique is exactly why patients previously fail-ing with 3 different doctors without advance imaging are now having pain relief for the first time in more than forty years. No wonder many patients are driving all the way from Michigan to receive this treatment.

Is it true this natural treatment costs NOTHING?

Yes, more good news, besides the pain relief, is that because this nonsurgica­l program has already proven to help thousands of seniors, Medi-care and other insurance plans will cover the full cost of the treatment. So there is very likely NO COST to you for this life-changing treatment.

Is it true? Could it be that this natural treatment cost NOTHING or very little out of pocket?

Yes! More good news besides the pain relief is that because this non-surgical pain relief program has already proven to help thousands of seniors, Medicare and other insurance plans pay for ALL or most of the cost of the treatment. So there is very likely LITTLE or NO COST to you for this in-office treatment.

Here is what you need to do Call now for a free screening...

If you or a loved one is suffering with knee pain, this could be the blessed relief you’re looking for.

You are personally invited to a FREE knee pain screening from the Joint Relief Institute doctors to see if you are a good candidate for this all natural, highly-precise treatment.

Your screening will only take about 2030 minutes of your time, as one of their doctors sits down with you and answers all the questions you have about your knees.

On the day of your treatment, you’ll be able to come in on your own, and be done within 30 minutes or less. No pain. No problem driving yourself home.

Due to high demand, they can only offer a limited number of FREE screenings every month. So if you’re interested, Call now (708) 963-0065.

TeleMedici­ne Now Available

 ??  ??
 ?? ASHLEE REZIN GARCIA/SUN-TIMES FILE ?? A poll conducted in late May shows a 75% job approval rating and a 77% favorabili­ty rating for Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
ASHLEE REZIN GARCIA/SUN-TIMES FILE A poll conducted in late May shows a 75% job approval rating and a 77% favorabili­ty rating for Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Go Golfing
Go Golfing
 ??  ?? Play With Your Grandkids
Play With Your Grandkids
 ??  ?? Go Dancing
Go Dancing

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States