Chicago Retail Merchants Association 19 South LaSalle Street Suite 300 Chicago, Illinois 60603 tel 312/726- 4600 fax 312/726- 9570 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT December 22, 2010 Ryan McLaughlin, 312-969-0255 [email protected] CHICAGO RETAIL MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION SECOND MAYORAL POLL FINDS EMANUEL WIDENING LEAD OVER RIVALS Rahm Emanuel Leads All Candidates Combined and Maintains Edge in Every Demographic Category CHICAGO – Chicago Retail Merchants Association (CRMA), a committee of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), has released findings from its second poll conducted in the Chicago Mayoral race. The poll finds that Rahm Emanuel has widened his lead over his rivals, maintains his edge in every demographic and geographical category and remains the front- runner over all other candidates combined. Overall, Rahm Emanuel garnered 43% with Gery Chico at 11%, Carol Moseley Braun at 7%, Danny Davis and Miguel Del Valle at 6% and James Meeks at 3%, while 16% of likely voters are still undecided. The first poll conducted by the CRMA one month ago found Emanuel leading the pack of Mayoral hopefuls. The new poll numbers indicate Emanuel has increased his lead with the percentage of undecided voters decreasing. The poll was conducted by We Ask America on Monday, December 20th, collecting responses from 2,239 likely voters with a margin of error of ±2.07%. CRMA will conduct routine polling throughout the campaign and has not endorsed any candidate for Mayor. “The upcoming race for Mayor will have a significant impact on the direction of our local economy and retailers play a pivotal role in communities throughout the City of Chicago,” said David Vite, Chicago Retail Merchants Association. “We are going to conduct routine independent polling throughout the course of this campaign so the public has a sense of the latest trends in one of the most important Chicago elections we’ve seen in decades.” Dec. 20 Poll Nov. 21 Poll Braun 7.78% Braun 12.33% Chico 11.78% Burris 2.40% Chico 8.86% Davis 6.63% Davis 7.29% Del Valle 6.09% Del Valle 4.78% Emanuel 43.83% Emanuel 39.00% Meeks 3.63% Meeks 5.16% Other 3.91% Other 1.47% Uncertain 16.35% Uncertain 18.72% To review the entire poll including all graphs, please visit http://irma.org/ Poll Methodology Demographic information recorded in the poll provided data to normalize (weight) the results to provide the most accurate results that account for ethnic origin, gender over/under-sampling. Our sampling methodology ensures that We Ask America poll results are “projectable,” meaning that if every telephone in a given geography was dialed, the results would not differ from the reported poll results by more than the stated margin of error at a 95% confidence level (the industry standard), were the same survey taken repeatedly. For this case, results with a margin of error of ±2.06% at the 95% confidence level means that if the same survey were conducted 100 times, then 95 times out of 100 the results would not vary in either direction by more than 2.06% in either direction. About the Chicago Retail Merchants Association (CRMA) Chicago Retail Merchants Association (CRMA), a committee of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), is dedicated to protecting the retail industry in the City of Chicago. Employing one in every five Chicagoans and generating 1/3 of local tax revenues, today, more than ever before, it is necessary for the retail industry to have a firm, solid footing in the activities of local government. CRMA is the voice for retailers in the City of Chicago. -###- A Committee of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association .