PEORIA, Ill. – In a heated political climate, lessons of bipartisanship were given to Bradley University students and members of the community on Thursday.
The university’s Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service and the Dirksen Congressional Center hosted a forum with three former Congressmen on the topic of bipartisanship. The three were Ray LaHood, Cheri Bustos, and Bob Dold, with longtime NPR correspondent Ron Elving serving as the panel moderator.
LaHood, a Republican, served as Congressman for Illinois’ 18th District from 1995-2009, and served as Democratic President Barack Obama’s Transportation Secretary until 2013. LaHood said he looked at the opportunity to serve as Transportation Secretary as a way to continue public service, and credits a friendship with Obama that started when he was in Congress and Obama in the Illinois House for the opportunity.
LaHood says bipartisanship to him means people of different viewpoints coming together to work for the people. He says one way he helped build those relationships was being a co-chair for weekend retreats with members of both parties and their families.
“As somebody in public service or politics, if you get to know somebody or get to know their family, it’s very difficult to be critical of them,” LaHood said.
LaHood feels bipartisanship is still strong in Washington D.C. with the work done on Congressional committees. He cited Congressmen from both parties serving on the Intelligence Committee, working on terrorist and keeping the country safe, as one example.
Cheri Bustos served as a Democrat in Illinois’ 17th District in the Quad Cities area for five terms before retiring in 2023, with current Congressman Eric Sorenson winning the seat. She says she would always seek out a Republican co-sponsor on legislation she backed.
Bustos says she would always see her fellow legislators as people.
“To me, it’s a willingness to look across the aisle and say ‘Those are not my enemies,’” Bustos said. “They are people who may see things politically a bit differently, but that we can work together.”
Bustos says some of her most important legislation would not have passed without seeking out Republican colleagues who saw the bill as important.
Bustos says decorum between both sides was worsening in her time in office and continued after she left Congress. But she believes a potential flip of the House to Democrats would cause a split government, which can force both parties to work together.
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