Rate freeze popular with voters - but it's not at top of the list

SPRINGFIELD - A majority of Illinoisans support freezing the state's electric rates at their current levels, a new poll indicates, despite threats from the utility industry that it could go bankrupt if sharp rate increases aren't instituted starting next year. But in what may come as a relief to skittish state politicians who aren't sure how to handle the issue, the poll found the utility debate isn't anywhere near the top of voters' minds lately. The most important issues to them remain old standbys such as education funding and health care. Meanwhile, government corruption - a topic that inevitably saturates the state's airwaves during election seasons - apparently has got Illinois voters so numb that it ranks beneath &#8220avoiding tax i