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Cheri BustosDEMDemocrat U.S. Representative from Illinois
62
Years of Age
15
Years of Experience
ILResidence (state)

Cheryl Lea Bustos (BOOST-ohss; née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American journalist, healthcare executive, and politician who served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman elected to Congress from her district in the northwestern part of the state, anchored by the Illinois side of the Quad Cities and partially including Peoria and Rockford. In 2019, Bustos became chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).Elected to the East Moline City Council in 2007, Bustos defeated Republican Party incumbent Bobby Schilling in the 2012 election and a 2014 rematch. In 2021, Bustos and Senator Dick Durbin were the only Democrats in Illinois's congressional delegation who are not from the Chicago area. On April 30, 2021, she announced that she would retire at the end of the 117th U.S. Congress.In January 2023, the Washington, DC-based public affairs and lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs announced that Bustos had joined the firm as a consultant.

Voterly's Issue Scores  (1 - 30 of 30)

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Campaign Funding

20
18
$3,931,138
Total Raised
$3,132,802
Total Spent
$2,334,441
Cash on Hand
Financial Data Source: Center for Responsive Politics
Education6 - 6 of 4
University of Illinois at Springfield
MA Journalism
1983 - 1985
University of Maryland at College Park
BA Government and Politics
1981 - 1983
Illinois College
Attended Political Science
1979 - 1981
Legislative Staff Internship Program, University of Illinois at Springfield
Certified
Past Positions1 - 5 of 5
Representative
United States House of Representatives
2012 - 2023
Member
Board of Aldermen, City of East Moline
2007 - 2011
Vice President
Communications and Public Relations, Iowa Health System
2008 - 2011
Senior Director
Corporate Communications, Trinity Regional Health System
2001 - 2007
Editor
Quad-City Times
1985 - 2001
Other Experience1 - 27 of 27
Delegate
Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership
Current
Member
Alumni Board of Directors, Illinois College
Former Board Member
Media Roundtable on Ethnic Diversity
Former Chair
Quad-Cities First
Former Co-Chair
Go Red for Women, American Heart Association
Former Co-Chair
Access to the Media Committee
Former Member
United Way of the Quad-Cities Area
Former Member
East Moline Citizens Advisory Committee
Former Member
Board of Directors, Skip-A-Long Child Development Services
Former Member
Public Awareness Committee, Child Abuse Council
Former Member
East Moline Plan Commission
Former President
Board of Directors, Women’s Connection
Former Vice Chair
Board of Directors, WVIK Public Radio, Rock Island
Former Volunteer
Two Rivers YMCA
Former Volunteer
Big Brothers/Big Sisters-Quad-Cities
Founder
East Moline Downtown Revitalization Committee
Member
No Labels
Member
Junior Achievement of the Heartland, Quad-Cities
Participant
Illinois Quad-City Chamber of Commerce Leadership Academy
Former Member
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Aviation Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Highways and Transit Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, United States House of Representatives