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Cheri Bustos
Cheryl Lea Bustos (/ˈbuːstoʊs/ BOOST-ohss; née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American lobbyist. Formerly a journalist, healthcare executive, and politician, she served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was 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, D.C.–based public affairs and lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs announced that Bustos had joined the firm as a consultant.
Bustos was born in Springfield, Illinois, one of three children of Gene and Ann Callahan. Her grandfather Joseph R. Callahan was a hog farmer and a state legislator. "We had governors over to our house. We had lieutenant governors", Bustos has said.
Her father worked for The State Journal-Register, then served as assistant press secretary to Governor Samuel Shapiro, press secretary to Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, and chief of staff to U.S. Senator Alan Dixon. As a girl she babysat Dick Durbin's children. Her mother worked as a teacher.
Bustos graduated from Springfield High School in 1979. She attended Illinois College, then transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park, from which she received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1983. From 1983 to 1984, Bustos interned with the Illinois Senate Democrats. She went on to receive a master's degree in journalism from the University of Illinois Springfield in 1985.
In 1985, Bustos moved to the Quad Cities to work as a night-shift police reporter for the Quad-City Times. She worked there for 17 years, first as a reporter and then as an editor.
From 2001 to 2007, Bustos worked as senior director of corporate communications for Trinity Regional Health Systems. From 2008 to 2011, she worked as vice president of corporate communications for Iowa Health System; in her last full year, she received overall compensation of $306,295.
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Cheri Bustos
Cheryl Lea Bustos (/ˈbuːstoʊs/ BOOST-ohss; née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American lobbyist. Formerly a journalist, healthcare executive, and politician, she served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was 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, D.C.–based public affairs and lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs announced that Bustos had joined the firm as a consultant.
Bustos was born in Springfield, Illinois, one of three children of Gene and Ann Callahan. Her grandfather Joseph R. Callahan was a hog farmer and a state legislator. "We had governors over to our house. We had lieutenant governors", Bustos has said.
Her father worked for The State Journal-Register, then served as assistant press secretary to Governor Samuel Shapiro, press secretary to Lieutenant Governor Paul Simon, and chief of staff to U.S. Senator Alan Dixon. As a girl she babysat Dick Durbin's children. Her mother worked as a teacher.
Bustos graduated from Springfield High School in 1979. She attended Illinois College, then transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park, from which she received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1983. From 1983 to 1984, Bustos interned with the Illinois Senate Democrats. She went on to receive a master's degree in journalism from the University of Illinois Springfield in 1985.
In 1985, Bustos moved to the Quad Cities to work as a night-shift police reporter for the Quad-City Times. She worked there for 17 years, first as a reporter and then as an editor.
From 2001 to 2007, Bustos worked as senior director of corporate communications for Trinity Regional Health Systems. From 2008 to 2011, she worked as vice president of corporate communications for Iowa Health System; in her last full year, she received overall compensation of $306,295.
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