President Obama spoke to the Illinois Legislature about compromise and finding common ground Wednesday afternoon.

The President said people are turned off by the “poisonous political climate in the US,” and that Democrats and Republicans have become so polarized that it is difficult to find the middle.

“Trying to find common ground doesn’t make me less of a Democrat, or less of a progressive, it means I’m trying to get stuff done, and the same applies to a Republican, who heaven forbid, agrees with me on a particular issue,” Obama said.

Obama lamented the fact that this has only gotten worse over two terms in office. He stressed that elected officials need to work together and respect one another. The President gave his speech as Illinois is in its eighth month without a state budget.