Priorities and Expectations for Public Safety, Education, and Immigration Among Chicago Residents
ChicagoSpeaks is the only probability-based panel built exclusively for Chicago, giving decision-makers reliable evidence on residents’ opinions and priorities.
Q1 2025
A ChicagoSpeaks® survey from NORC at the University of Chicago reveals key insights about policy priorities of Chicagoans and their shift in attitudes since last summer.
More than half of Chicagoans believe addressing crime and violence should be a government priority in the next year, making it the top concern for the city. Chicago residents report several other policy priorities, including cost of living, housing affordability, immigration, education, road conditions, and public transportation.
Consistent with priorities to address crime and violence, the survey finds two-thirds of Chicagoans report an area around their home where they would be afraid to walk alone at night, and 17 percent report owning a gun in their household. These statistics have remained largely unchanged among Chicago residents since last summer.
The findings also point to changes in how residents view their economic outlook. However, feelings of job security among Chicagoans have shifted since last summer. Specifically, fewer working residents believe it is not at all likely they will lose their job compared to last summer and fall, demonstrating greater insecurity in the current economic climate.
Among income groups, both lower- and higher-income Chicagoans are exhibiting more job insecurity. Both those making less than $50,000 and $100,000 or more annually are less likely to believe the possibility of losing their job is not at all likely compared to last summer (13 and 21 percentage points difference, respectively). However, Chicagoans making $50,000 to $100,000 a year have been more stable in their job security.
“Fewer working residents believe it is not at all likely they will lose their job compared to last summer and fall, demonstrating greater insecurity in the current economic climate.”
Attitudes toward immigration have shifted alongside these economic concerns. Attitudes toward immigration policy have also changed since last summer, with fewer believing immigration numbers should be reduced and slightly more favoring a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.
Partisan differences emerge when examining Chicago residents’ attitudes toward immigration. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe the number of immigrants to the U.S. should be reduced. Across parties, only about 2 in 10 want to see immigration increase.
Though independents are less likely than Democrats to favor a path to citizenship, they are more likely than Republicans to express support for this policy.
Education also remains a key concern for many residents. With education as a top priority among Chicagoans, the survey also finds few view Chicago Public Schools (CPS) favorably, with 4 in 10 rating CPS a C grade and a third giving D or F grades. However, parents of children attending Chicago Public Schools are more likely to give favorable grades to CPS as a whole. Three-quarters of parents give A or B grades to their children’s schools.
Methodology
The Chicago poll was conducted March 20–April 7, 2025 using ChicagoSpeaks®, NORC at the University of Chicago’s probability-based panel of Chicago residents. Overall, 1,084 Chicago residents completed the survey, including 553 probability cases and 531 non-probability cases. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 4.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, including the design effect. The margin of sampling error may be higher for subgroups.
NORC conducted the survey using three sample sources: (1) AmeriSpeak® panelists residing in Chicago, (2) ChicagoSpeaks panelists, and (3) Chicago residents from Dynata’s web panel. AmeriSpeak and ChicagoSpeaks are probability-based panels and Dynata is a non-probability panel. Final survey estimates were calibrated to account for the three sample sources. This research supports a scientifically rigorous, community-driven resource that informs policymakers and the public about the experiences and opinions of Chicago residents.
Interviews were conducted online in English and Spanish with Chicago residents ages 18 and older. AmeriSpeak panelists were invited through the password-protected AmeriSpeak Mobile App and received email reminders. ChicagoSpeaks panelists received a combination of email and SMS communications, while Dynata used their typical panel recruitment methods. Respondents were offered a small monetary incentive for completing the survey.
Quality assurance checks were conducted to ensure data quality. In total, 18 interviews were removed for nonresponse to at least 50 percent of the questions asked of them or for completing the survey in less than one-third the median interview time for the full sample. These interviews were excluded from the data file prior to weighting.
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About ChicagoSpeaks
Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, ChicagoSpeaks® is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the Chicago household population.
For more information, email ChicagoSpeaks-BD@norc.org.
About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, we have studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, we partner with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.
Contact: For more information, please email press@norc.org or call (877) 832-0392.
