U.S. Rep. Bustos wraps up decade of service in Congress

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos has concluded a decade in office serving the 17th District.

“Throughout my five terms, I’ve championed commonsense, bipartisan legislation and delivered real results. While there are many legislative victories I was proud to accomplish, the most important accomplishment has been always keeping the people I served back home at the center of my work,” Bustos said in a news release. “I want to thank the people of the 17th Congressional District of Illinois. I am humbled that – for a decade – you put your faith in me and trusted me to be your voice here in Washington.”

Bustos was the first woman elected to represent Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, and she founded her own training program, Build the Bench, to help women, people of color and young people enter public service.

She served under three U.S. Presidents and became one of three Democrats, and the only woman, in the nation to hold a Trump-won district for the entirety of his presidency.

In 2016, Bustos was elected co-chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, and she was elected to chair the DCCC in 2018.

During her final term, Bustos was nominated by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to co-chair the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which recommends member committee assignments and helps shape the House policy agenda. She was also selected in her final term to chair the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.

During her five terms, Bustos served on three House committees. A member of the Agriculture Committee for all 10 years in office, she helped create two Farm Bills and prepare for a third. On the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, she worked with organized labor to pass two major highway funding and water infrastructure packages to protect workers while strengthening roads, locks and dams, bridges and transit systems. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Bustos brought home the most community project funding of any House Democrat in the program’s inaugural year and secured more than $122 million in total for local projects through the program.

Bustos cast her final vote last week as a member of Congress to deliver more than $66 million for local projects in communities across Northwest and Central Illinois in health, workforce development, rural communities and more.

“Getting results has been my priority since day one,” Bustos said. “I can think of no better way to wrap up my work for Northern, Northwest and Central Illinois than delivering federal dollars our communities one final time. With my last vote in Congress, I was proud to secure more than $66 million to support local projects across the district I’ve served for the last decade, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact these resources have on our communities.”

The collection of artifacts and papers from her years in office will be archived in a joint partnership with the nonpartisan Dirksen Congressional Center and Illinois College in Jacksonville. Bustos is also establishing the Callahan-Bustos Family Endowed Scholarship Fund through a gift to the college, which will provide scholarship funding to students pursuing work for the public good.

“As an alumna of Illinois College and longtime partner to the bipartisan Dirksen Congressional Center, I am proud that my work will benefit the students and scholars of both respected institutions,” she said. “And I am deeply honored to announce the Callahan-Bustos Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will support students who are studying to enter a field that serves the public good. It is my hope that both this archived collection and the scholarship continue to build on my legacy of bipartisanship and public service.”

Illinois College and The Dirksen Center will each hold separate elements of the Bustos Collection. Illinois College will retain physical artifacts for display and research, while The Dirksen Center will hold the physical and digital papers from her office for academic research. The two institutions have committed to an ongoing partnership beginning with the Bustos Collection, with research opportunities for faculty and students at Illinois College once the papers are processed and open for viewing.

“We’re honored that Congresswoman Bustos has chosen The Dirksen Congressional Center to be the repository of her papers, extending to 90 years the unbroken legacy of bipartisan service chronicled in our collections,” Dirksen Center Executive Director Tiffany White said. “From continuing the reputation for outstanding constituent service that’s a hallmark of west-central Illinois to her leadership role in Congress to her participation in some of the most consequential events of the past decade, Congresswoman Bustos’ papers will be a boon to scholars, journalists and everyday citizens looking to understand Congress.”

The Callahan-Bustos Family Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide financial assistance annually to an Illinois College student or students pursuing a field that serves the public good, such as education, nursing, agriculture, political science, communication, criminal justice or counseling.

“The Congresswoman’s legacy of service will be carried forward, both in terms of the good work that will be generated by these collections and the scholarship opportunities she is providing at Illinois College,” Illinois College President Barbara Farley said.

Since 1973, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Dirksen Congressional Center has promoted research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress, its people and its policies. Located in Pekin, Illinois, it holds the papers of its namesake, 1964 Civil Rights Act architect U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen, as well as those of House Minority Leader Bob Michel; U.S. Rep. and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; and Time magazine congressional correspondent Neil MacNeil.