Illinois Senator Jason Brickman is as frustrated as anyone else when it comes to the budget impasse in Springfield. In fact, he said, he too feels your pain.

Despite the pain, the always smiling, always-energetic Barickman told members and friends of the Iroquois County Republican Women's Club (Thursday) he really likes representing the people of east-central Illinois in the state legislature.

Barickman said he believes "the legislature should be problem solvers, but House Speaker (Mike) Madigan is giving us a chance to do that. My hope is that Speaker Madigan will join our effort to make Illinois a more competitive place."

Barickman added, hopefully he'll realize mistakes of the past and work on making it better for all of us.

94.1 WGFA