DeKalb Times

Illinois residents are largely trustful of state officials in their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a new study, Northwestern and three other universities found that 70.2 percent of the state’s residents have some or a lot of trust in the way the state has managed the crisis, The Center Square reported. On the other end of the spectrum, 14.3 percent said their trust was “not at all" and 15.5 percent said “Not too much,” the story said.

The most trusting states were Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maryland, where 85 percent or more said they had some or a lot of trust in the way their states were handling the crisis. That contrasts with Georgia, Idaho, South Dakota and Oklahoma, where trust levels were below 65 percent.

Nationally, the public continues to strongly trust health professionals and scientists, both scoring over 90 percent.

The pandemic also seems to be taking a psychological toll. More than a fourth of people surveyed in April and May said they had symptoms that might indicate moderate to severe depression, three times as high as before the pandemic, The Center Square reported.

Also, most people are more cautious than their governors on the issue of reopening the economy, the study found. All 50 states are reopening, but only 15 percent of the people who surveyed said the country should reopen right away.

There was a huge partisan gap on reopening, with 30 percent of Republicans favoring immediate reopening compared to only 4 percent of Democrats. In six states, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Maryland — reopening right away was extremely unpopular, with 10 percent or fewer favoring it.

The online study surveyed 18,132 people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from May 16-31. In addition to Northwestern, researchers from Harvard, Rutgers, and Northeastern participated.

Another study found that Illinois' economy was the ninth-highest in terms of economic disruption from COVID-19, The Center Square reported.

The study by WalletHub looked at the number of job claims, percentages of jobs in small businesses and workers access to paid sick leave, the story said. Illinois had a score of 48.94. Florida, which the study said was the most affected economically by the pandemic, had a score of 61.16.