CHICAGO (AP) -- A poll conducted for the Chicago Tribune finds two in five likely Illinois voters say they're worse off financially than they were a year ago.

Statewide, 52 percent say they'll spend less on gifts this holiday season than they did last year. Only 1 percent say they will spend more.

Half say they have very little to no confidence that steps taken by the federal government to stabilize financial markets will fix the problem.

The telephone poll by Market Shares Corporation was conducted Oct. 16-18 among 500 confirmed registered voters in Illinois likely to vote in the Nov. 4 general election.

The error margin was 4.4 percentage points. Interviewing began the day after the last presidential debate.

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