Watch CBS News

Exit Polls Show Majority Of Democrats Voting In Illinois Primary Think Race Relations Have Gotten Worse

(CBS) -- In the state's attorney race, there was a lot of attention focused on the treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice system.

CBS 2's Jim Williams found attitudes in our exit polls that might explain why Foxx did so well Tuesday.

CBS 2's statewide exit poll numbers reflect great unease over the race relations, at least among Democrats voting Tuesday, many of them here in Cook County.

When we asked have race relations gotten better, only 9 percent said yes, 36 percent replied they've "stayed the same" and look at this, 54 percent tell us racial relations have gotten worse.

In the Democratic presidential primary, Bernie Sanders easily took the white vote, 58 percent to Hillary Clinton's 42 percent. Among black Democrats, 70 percent voted for Clinton and 29 percent for Sanders.

Clinton won the Illinois primary because she overwhelmingly won the African American vote, even though Sanders linked Clinton to Mayor Emanuel, who's unpopular in the black community and Clinton's critics said her husband's crime bill led to the mass incarceration of African Americans.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.