Many of the other Illinois lawmakers who did attend the speech say there's room to negotiate.
"The president gave to us a call to come together on a bipartisan basis, start thinking about the here and now," said Sen. Dick Durbin, (D) Illinois.
"What concerned me is the White House released a spread sheet showing new spending, but no spread sheet showing how it will be paid for," said Sen. Mark Kirk (R), Illinois.
"There was a sense of urgency that was appropriate," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D), Chicago and Northern Suburbs.
"There are some things in there that I think we can work together on to move the country forward," said Rep. Robert Dold (R), Northern Suburbs.
