Cheri Bustos

Cheryl Lea Bustos (née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American journalist, healthcare executive, and politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 17th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Bustos is the first woman elected to Congress from her district. In 2019, Bustos assumed a leadership position among House Democrats as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Previously elected to the East Moline City Council in 2007, she defeated Republican incumbent Bobby Schilling in the 2012 congressional election and a subsequent 2014 rematch. Assigned to the House Committee on Agriculture and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, she represents a northwest Illinois constituency anchored by the Quad Cities, Peoria, and Rockford. As of the 2016 elections, Bustos and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin are the only Democrats in the Illinois Congressional Delegation who are not from the Chicago area. 2Early life, education, and private sector career Bustos was born in Springfield, Illinois, one of three children of Gene and Ann Callahan. Her grandfather was a hog farmer who was also a state legislator. "We had governors over to our house. We had lieutenant governors," Bustos later 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 Senator Alan Dixo