Southern Illinois voters are in a pretty bad mood, according to a new poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  They have a negative view of the directions the state and nation are currently going.  They are somewhat happier about their local cities and the Southern Illinois region.  The poll of registered voters in 18 counties south of Interstate 64 was taken September 20^th through October 2^nd.  The survey was based on a random sample of 403 registered voters who responded to telephone interviews.  The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.  Voters were asked the following:  “Generally speaking, do you think things in our country are going in the right direction, or are they off track and heading in the wrong direction?”  The question was repeated for the state of Illinois and for “in your city or area of the state.”  Only 14.9 percent said the nation was going in the right direction.  Only 10 percent said the state was going in the right direction, however, 51.9 percent said their city or area was going in the right direction.  There were dramatic party differences regarding the direction of the nation.  94 percent of the Republicans said the country was going in the wrong direction, while 52.4 percent of the Democrats said wrong direction.