Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – His father sold pickles, and his mother worked at Sears. For Alexi Giannoulias‘ (pictured) family, that’s how the American dream began.

The Illinois secretary of state shared his stories this week with the people who attended the joint conference of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

“When you work in a family business, there’s no such thing as a weekend. There’s no such thing as nights off,” Giannoulias said. “I saw that. I lived it. And I saw that people who work hard and believe in what they’re doing, I saw them succeed.”

The political divide, Giannoulias said, is regrettable. “Sometimes in this world, especially with the crazy s— that’s happening in our political environment, it’s so easy to villainize big business, and it’s so easy to villainize people who have done well. This should not be a Democrat-Republican issue. It shouldn’t be, Democrats are against millionaires, and Republicans are against helping others.”

Giannoulias called himself a pro-business Democrat.