(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Former and current members of Congress from the Springfield area shared their views on bipartisanship for a Chicago audience.

“It’s okay to disagree,” said U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Springfield). “I think if you are someone that considers yourself a bipartisan member, as I do, I believe that disagreement is the nature of democracy, but that I believe in continuing to seek out the places where I can agree with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I think that is the spirit of bipartisanship.”

Former U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, a Peoria Republican, continued his bipartisan spirit as the secretary of transportation in the Obama White House. “Transportation is the most bipartisan issue,” he said. “There are no Republican or Democratic roads. There are no Republican or Democratic bridges, and we had an abundance of riches. When the economic stimulus bill passed thirty days after President Obama was elected, $47 billion came to DOT.”

Budzinski and LaHood appeared on a program for the City Club of Chicago.