I suspect executives in a industry dependent upon the oil and gas industry differ from the average Illinois voter
Excuse me, but what's the "average Illinois voter"? Except for three geographical areas in our state, Chicago, Champaign-Urbana and the East St. Louis area, we are mainly conservative and vote that way. So, you're really painting with a broad brush. Illinois politics is so overly influenced by Chicago (including many GOP candidates) we have little chance to overcome their crap.