Five days after he was lumped into a group called “major sleazebags” by President Donald Trump, Rick Woldenberg sat in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives in awe of where he was, listening to the president’s State of the Union address as the guest of U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Hi ghland Park. Woldenberg, a Highland Park resident, is the CEO of Vernon Hills-based Learning Resources, Inc. The company sued the Trump administration in April over the tariffs Trump imposed and their potential impact on the company. Schneider announced on Feb. 19 that Woldenberg would be his guest at the State of the Union. The following day, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 in determining that the tariffs imposed were unconstitutional. In the wake of the decision, Trump criticized some of the justices and called the people who brought the lawsuit “major sleazebags.” Woldenberg did not seem bothered by the slight as he recounted his experience at the State of the Union Tuesday night. “As I looked at the surroundings, I was proud to be in the place that symbolizes our democracy,” he said after the speech. “I was having an out-of-body experience.” Meanwhile, members of Congress representing Lake County had more criticism than praise for Trump’s State of the Union address, criticizing the president’s inability to be a unifying leader. U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, right, and Rick Woldenberg, the congressman’s guest at the State of the Union Tuesday in Washington, chat in Schneider’s office before heading to the House of Representatives chamber. (Office of U.S.Rep. Brad Schneider) Not all members of the Lake County delegation were in the House Chamber. Schneider and U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, were there, but U.S. Rep Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston, and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Chicago, made other plans. Nonetheless, local Republicans liked what they heard. Though Trump did not mention Woldenberg during his speech, he was critical of the Supreme Court justices who voted that the tariffs he imposed in April were unconstitutional. He said he will continue imposing them, taking a different tack. “And then just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court, it just came down,” Trump said in his speech. “So, despite the disappointing ruling, these powerful country saving, it’s saving our country the kind of money we’re taking in, peace protecting.” President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) Woldenberg said hearing Trump talk about the lawsuit his company filed challenging the tariffs contributed to his “out of body experience.” The litigation had nothing to do with politics, he said; it was about Learning Resources’ mission. “We’re trying to help with our educational products to provide a good start for kids,” Woldenberg said. “We’re in our fourth generation. We’ve been making toys since 1916.” Schneider said there were unifying moments near the start of the speech and at the end, but in between — the speech lasted 108 minutes, the longest State of the Union in history — there was plenty of criticism of Democrats and inaccurate statements. Early in the evening, Trump honored the U.S. men’s gold medal-winning Olympic hockey team. The players walked onto the House floor to a standing ovation. At the end, Trump awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to two members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including Royce Williams, a Navy pilot from World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, who turns 100 on July 4. Members of the United States' Olympic hockey team, goalie Connor Hellebuyck in front, attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) “Unfortunately, the rest of the president’s address was just more of (his) tired old grievances and lies,” Schneider said. “It’s obvious he has no serious plan to help hardworking Americans get ahead, no plan to lower the cost of groceries, to make it easier to buy a home or afford healthcare for their families.” During his speech, Trump said the first year of his current term saw more jobs created than ever before. The record was in 2021 and 2022 as the country recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Schneider said manufacturing jobs declined last year. Foster said he attended the speech out of respect for the office of the president, but not for Trump himself. He set a goal for his presence on the House floor, and it was reached in less than an hour. “After five bald-faced lies, I did what I did last year and left,” he said. “He was in business in the 1970s, so he knew what he was saying was false,” he added, referring to Trump’s claim he cured the country’s record inflation. Mark Shaw, a Lake County resident and the Republican state central committeeman for the 10th Congressional District, said in a text Tuesday night the speech was very “Reaganesque, and one of the finest speeches he has ever given,” referencing former President Ronald Reagan. Shaw was also critical of the Democrats’ behavior. “I also believe the Democrats’ refusal to stand for, and/or applaud, almost anything President said or did was disrespectful to the office of the presidency, the solemnity of the State of the Union, and a divisive demonstration for the American people,” Shaw wrote. “Their exhibition of disunity is what has caused our political discourse to become so toxic.” Keith Brin, the chair of the Republican Lake County Central Committee, said in a text Tuesday night that he liked what Trump said about reducing the cost of living. It is part of the message of the local party for the upcoming November election. “I appreciate the President’s focus on lowering costs for working families and improving the economy,” Brin said in the text. “That’s the number one priority for Lake County Republicans, and it’s the priority for our candidates.” Schakowsky, who is in her last term, said in an email she could not attend last night, “and pretend everything is normal with families across my district.” Quigley chose to attend a virtual town hall in Barrington, according to his staff. ...read more read less