Weighing in on Rep. Bustos’ road ahead for the Sauk Valley

Entering her last year in office, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos said she is committed to legislative action for working families, the 2023 Farm Bill and securing broadband infrastructure improvements for rural communities.

Those priorities are in line with her efforts during five terms representing the 17th District, say two people who’ve had a front-row seat for Bustos’ work on behalf of manufacturing, education and workforce development.

Kris Noble, executive director of the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, said Bustos is an advocate for the manufacturing sector and for area students, such as those in the Whiteside Area Career Center’s CEO program for young entrepreneurs.

“Congresswoman Cheri Bustos has been a champion for the Sauk Valley,” Noble said. “Her willingness to be available to talk to the WACC CEO program and the Sauk Valley Leadership Program is a testament to her commitment to the students in the area. She has been a great advocate for the manufacturing industry, which is vital to the growth of this area.”

Noble hopes that Bustos, a Democrat from East Moline, will continue to work across the aisle and that her replacement will do the same.

“I would like to see her continue to work to support bipartisan initiatives,” she said. “We need to work on being less divided, and legislators like Congresswoman Bustos can help make that happen.”

One of Bustos’ highlights in the Sauk Valley was when first lady Jill Biden visited Sauk Valley Community College in April to showcase the Sauk Impact Program, which will allow high school students to earn up to 3 years of tuition and fees by volunteering in the community.

Lori Cortez, dean of institutional advancement at the college, said Bustos has been a strong advocate for community colleges and spoke of her being engaged with focus groups on economic development and workforce development.

“She’s done so much,” Cortez said. “I would suggest that she continues to help expand access to higher education across the region.”

Federal programs that provide support to students includes TRIO Support Services — a grant Sauk Valley Community College has benefited from for nearly 30 years. The other is the PELL grant program, which goes to 70% of Sauk students.

Bustos said renewing the expanded Child Tax Credit and “the critical necessity of reducing child care costs for working families” are on her agenda.

“Hard-working families who are just trying to get ahead have come to count on that support month to month since we passed that last year,” she said in a speech from the House floor. “Now, there are 71,000 families just in the congressional district that I serve, who won’t see that deposit into their bank account starting this month.”

The child tax credits in the district total around $200 million. The pandemic has created several hardships for families, including balancing child care and being in the workforce.

“In Illinois, more than half of the children living in poverty don’t have a seat in a pre-K classroom,” Bustos said. “Parents across our nation are spending a good chunk of their take-home pay for the child care they need in order to be able to go to work. And it’s our job to help make that more affordable.”

Other priorities include work on the 2023 Farm Bill as well as broadband infrastructure improvements in rural areas.

Bustos hailed the American Rescue Plan Act and infrastructure bill as “two of the most historic pieces of legislation in modern history” that will bring new jobs and improvements to the area.

When it comes to securing federal funding for the Whiteside and Carroll portions of the district, Bustos helped to provide $7.2 million in Head Start funding for the Tri-County Opportunities Council in Rock Falls; nearly $5 million in funding for rural health providers in Whiteside County through the American Rescue Plan; direct hiring authority, recruitment and retention bonuses for Thomson Prison; and $190,000 in funding for the Tri-Township Airport in Savanna.

“I’ve got one year left in Congress and so much to accomplish,” Bustos said. “So, I say to my own staff, I say to myself, I say to everybody in this body – let’s get to work.”