Local lawmakers agreed that President Barack Obama's visit to his home state of Illinois was a positive experience. They said they think the president's speech was the push they needed to get the Illinois budget passed.
"We need to stop worrying about elections coming up in November," said Rep. Mike Smiddy (D) Hillsdale, IL. "We need to look at the effects that it's having, not only on our whole state, but within our districts."
"The president brought up today the redistricting reform," said Sen. Neil Anderson (R) Moline, IL, "that's something that our side of the aisle believes strongly in and obviously the president does. So why not use that as a starting point, you know, let's come together and get this done and I think it's something that almost everybody agrees on."