SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — After President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Tuesday night, many elected officials in Illinois had passionate opinions about his speech.

Both Illinois senators, Tammy Duckworth (D) and Dick Durbin (D), applauded the President’s work so far halfway into his term.

“In February 2021, we were in the throes of a global pandemic and reckoning with a deadly insurrection in the Capitol that had taken place just one month earlier,” Durbin said. “Two years later, we have seen record-breaking job creation, new roads and bridges being built, the uninsured rate at historic lows, and we are finally confronting the climate crisis—all while lowering the deficit by $1.7 trillion.”

They say they will continue to work with Biden.

“While we’ve made a lot of progress, the President and I know that we can’t let up now,” Duckworth said. “I share President Biden’s hope that Republicans will put aside partisan fighting, come to the negotiating table and make working families—not wealthy donors—the top priority so we can improve the lives of everyday Americans.”

Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) appreciated Biden’s commitment to helping trade workers.

“President Biden laid out a number of priorities that lower costs, support good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree and help folks in Central and Southern Illinois keep more of what they earn,” Budzinski said. “While I would have liked to hear the President address the need to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill, I was encouraged to hear about our shared efforts to support American manufacturing and union jobs, protect Social Security and Medicare, restore the full Child Tax Credit, ensure access to mental health care for every veteran and cap insulin prices at $35 a month for every American.”

Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) wants to work with Democrats in a bipartisan manner but criticized the president blaming Republicans for the country’s problems.

“We heard much of the same failed policies and rhetoric that we’ve witnessed over the past two years,” LaHood said. “Instead of shifting blame, President Biden should work to find commonsense solutions with Republicans in Congress to reduce costs, curb inflation, secure our border, and reduce crime.”

Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) was critical of the State of the Union as well.

“President Biden did what he does best; take credit where no credit is due and deny responsibility for his failures,” Bost said. “Our communities are reeling from violence in our streets and fentanyl pouring across our southern border unchecked. And from his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to the Chinese spy balloon just last week, he has signaled to our enemies that we are no longer to be feared.”

Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), who did not attend the speech out of protest, claimed the president was out of touch with everyday families dealing with inflation.

“The Biden years will be remembered as years when drugs and fentanyl ravaged our country. Years of high crime, unaffordable groceries, and crushing energy bills,” she said. “The working-class Americans who Biden promised to help the most are suffering the worst because of him.”