Cheri Bustos

Cheri Bustos
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Bobby Schilling
Personal details
Born	Cheryl L. Callahan (1961-10-17) October 17, 1961 Springfield, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Gerry Bustos
Children	Three sons
Residence	East Moline, Illinois
Alma mater	University of Maryland (B.S.) University of Illinois, Springfield (M.A.)
Occupation	Reporter, health care executive
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	Official website Representative Cheri Bustos

Cheryl L. "Cheri" Callahan-Bustos (born October 17, 1961) is an American politician who has served as the United States Representative for Illinois's 17th congressional district^[1][2] since 2013. The district includes most of Illinois's share of the Quad Cities, as well as parts of Peoria and Rockford. Bustos served as an alderman on the East Moline, Illinois, City Council from her election in 2007 until her resignation in 2011.

Early life, education, and private sector career

Bustos was born in Springfield, Illinois, to Gene and Ann Callahan, one of three children. Her father was chief of staff to Paul Simon when he was lieutenant governor and later chief of staff to Alan Dixon in the Senate,^[3] and her mother was a preschool teacher.^[4] Bustos attended Springfield High School, graduating in 1979.^[5]

Bustos attended Illinois College in 1981, and then the University of Maryland, College Park, where she received her bachelor's degree in political science and history. Bustos enrolled at the University of Illinois, Springfield, where she received her master's degree in journalism.^[5]

Bustos worked for 17 years as a reporter and editor at the daily newspaper Quad-City Times, where she reported on instances of corruption in local government.^[3]

Later, Bustos spent six years working as senior director of corporate communications at Trinity Regional Health System. In 2008 she was appointed vice president of public relations and communications at Iowa Health System,^[3] where she received $306,000 in salary and bonuses in her last full year (2010).^[6]

East Moline City Council

Elections

Bustos decided to run for the City Council of East Moline's 4th Ward. She won the Democratic primary with 45% of the vote.^[7] She won the general election unopposed.^[8][9] B In 2011, she won re-election unopposed.^[10]

Tenure

Before first being elected in 2007, Bustos served on East Moline's Citizen Advisory Committee and the East Moline Plan Commission.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, Bustos received an Athena Business Women's Award.^[11]

In February 2010, Bustos secured state and federal money to purchase a $40,000 electronic welcome sign that was placed at the border of East Moline.^[12]

In August 2010, Bustos voted for water and sewer rate hikes.^[13] In January 2011, Bustos expressed interest in charging residents who do not recycle extra fees to lower the city's landfill costs.^[14] In April 2011, Bustos voted for a budget that raised property taxes 4.9% and raised garbage collection fees, saying, "these decisions have been made thoughtfully and thoroughly and during the course of 17 open and public budget sessions."^[15] She supported water and sewage increases.^[16]

She has been criticized for voting for a $624,000 project to improve 10th Street in East Moline, which runs adjacent to Bustos's house; the Schilling campaign dubbed it the "Bustos Parkway".^[17] Schilling's claim was called "reckless, irresponsible fiction" by the editorial board of the Quad-City Times.

After being elected to a second term in May 2011, she resigned in September 2011 to focus on her run for Congress.^[18]

Committee assignments

• East Moline Downtown Revitalization Committee (Founded and Chaired)^[19]

U.S. House of Representatives

2012 elections

The Bustos campaign publicly stated it received the endorsement of about two dozen unions active in the 17th Congressional district, including the Illinois AFL-CIO, AFSCME and the United Auto Workers.^[20] During the primary, Bustos received the endorsement of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.^[21] Durbin asked state Senator Dave Koehler and George Gaulrapp to drop out of the race to clear the way for Bustos, who is a close family friend of Durbin.^[22] Gaulrapp reported that during a meeting with Durbin about withdrawing, Durbin said that Bustos had babysat for his family and was a close friend.^[22] Bustos won the Democratic primary on March 20, 2012, defeating Freeport Mayor George Gaulrapp and businessman Greg Aguilar 54%-26%-20%.^[3][23][24]

In the general election, Bustos was one of 39 candidates considered to be the most viable challengers against Republican incumbents to benefit from "Red to Blue" program offered by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.^[25] Bustos was endorsed by the Quad-City Times for the general election.^[26] In November, she defeated incumbent Republican Bobby Schilling 53%-47%.^[27]

Tenure

Shortly after taking office, Bustos joined the bipartisan No Labels group.^[28] Her first sponsored legislation was designed to make the federal government more efficient.^[29][30]

Bustos wants to create a "manufacturing triangle" connecting Peoria, the Quad Cities, and Rockford anchored by Caterpillar, John Deere, and the aerospace industry, respectively. She supports putting in place job-training programs at area community colleges to better prepare workers for skilled jobs in manufacturing.^[31]

Bustos strongly supports the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). In October 2012, her congressional campaign website said, "The new reform law is not perfect, but makes real improvements in our health care system. It lowers costs for small businesses and makes sure you have coverage that cannot be taken away. It stops insurance companies from denying coverage of preexisting conditions and allows children to stay on their parents’ health insurance for longer."^[32] Bustos, a Catholic, supports the law's White House mandate on contraception, despite the Catholic Church's strong opposition.^[33]

Bustos opposes a full extension of the Bush tax cuts.^[34]

Bustos supports a 10% pay cut for members of Congress with no further pay raises until the federal budget is balanced. She has been critical of Republicans' approach to balancing the budget and reducing taxes. Bustos favors reducing waste and fraud, ending "tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas," and ending "corporate handouts."^[35] She does not support lowering salaries or pensions for federal government employees.^[36]

Bustos supports the DREAM Act.^[33]

During a debate, Bustos opposed the three trade agreements approved by Congress in 2011 as "NAFTA-style" and said they would result in job losses for Illinois.^[36]

Bustos wants to change No Child Left Behind to offer more assistance for teachers while de-emphasizing "teaching to the test," expand Head Start, reform student loans to address rising tuition costs, "protect and expand college scholarships like Pell Grants" and "improve vocational and job training opportunities for children who decide not to attend college."^[37]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
  • Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • United States House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

Personal life

Bustos is married to Gerry Bustos, a captain with the Rock Island County Police Department and commander of the Quad City Bomb Squad. They have three grown sons and two grandchildren.

References

Further reading

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress

External links

• Representative Cheri Bustos official U.S. House website
• Cheri Bustos for Congress
• Cheri Bustos at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Cheri Bustos at Ballotpedia
• Cheri Bustos on the Open Directory Project