U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., won’t run for re-election next year. The five-term congresswoman made a public announcement Friday that she will end her run in the House after her term ends.
Bustos said her decision came after a periodic assessment of her career, something she says she’s done every 10 years. The Moline Democrat said her health is good and that she has no future job lined up, other than to continue representing the 17th District.
“I have no plans over these next 20 months to do anything but great work for this congressional district,” Bustos said in a telephone interview. “I’ll be able to figure this out. I always have big dreams and big hopes, and so I’m confident that whatever the next chapter is, it will be something where I’ll be in a position to help make a difference.
“I feel like I’m a big thinker, and I think everything will turn out OK,” she added.
Bustos said announcing her decision now gives potential successors time to line up their own campaigns.
“I’m not running from anything. I’m proud. I’m holding my head high. I believe it’s time for a new voice, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure that we elect somebody who’s great,” she said.
Bustos was first elected to Congress in 2012, after having worked as a journalist at the Quad-City Times, and later, as a hospital executive and member of the East Moline City Council. She proved herself to be a prolific fundraiser and tireless worker, winning in a district that was a mix of urban areas, including the Quad-Cities and parts of Peoria and Rockford, as well as large swaths of rural farmland.
Over the years, though, the district has turned redder, and in 2016, even though Donald Trump won the district by a small margin at the top of the ticket, Bustos also won re-election, a feat that got her national recognition.
Her bid for a 5th term, though, was difficult. Bustos defeated Republican Esther Joy King, a political novice and relative newcomer to the district, but with just 52% of the vote, a departure from double-digit victories in previous contests and her closest election since winning the seat from Bobby Schilling in 2012.
Bustos, though, said she is not leaving for fear of the 2022 election cycle, when it is likely Democrats will face headwinds, a tradition for the party holding the White House. “I’ve never lost an election in my life,” she said.
While the party in power tends to suffer in the midterm after a presidential election, this year also will bring newly drawn district boundaries, which would likely mean friendlier territory, as Democrats control the mapmaking in Illinois.
In Congress, Bustos has been a moderate voice among Democrats, even as some of the more newly prominent members of her caucus have tried to pull the party leftward. On the Agriculture Committee, she worked to help get two farm bills passed. She also sponsored legislation that was passed to help Gold Star families.
At home, Bustos helped secure funding to increase the workload at the Rock Island Arsenal, and she introduced and got passed legislation aimed at filling vacant space there. She also was a leader in the effort to ensure the federal government brought jobs to the prison in Thomson, which was purchased from the state of Illinois in 2012 and is now a federal facility.
In 2016, Bustos also pressured former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to commit to the extension of passenger rail service from Chicago to Moline at a time when continued federal funding for the project was in question. Subsequently, she and other lawmakers got a commitment from the federal government to extend the $177 million set aside for the rail line through 2024.
After entering Congress, Bustos rose quickly in the ranks of House Democrats, eventually becoming chair of the party’s campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, in 2018. The idea was that as a Democrat who won in a district also won by Donald Trump, she could help her party in these problematic areas. Her name was even mentioned in some circles as a potential future speaker of the House.
However, while the party held on to its majority in the 2020 elections, it ended up losing seats, a disappointment after widespread expectations it would do better. Bustos, who faced criticism over the election results, announced last December that she would not seek another stint as chair.
Asked whether the experience contributed to her decision to leave, Bustos emphasized that the party maintained control of the House, which she said is allowing the passage of President Biden’s priorities, like the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
Bustos, who turns 60 years old this year, didn’t say where she’ll settle after her term in Congress ends, but called the Quad-Cities her home.
Her husband, Gerry Bustos, is the Rock Island County Sheriff, and she now has three grandchildren. But she left open the idea the future could take her elsewhere, too. “I’m open to what is going to be best for my family, and I’m open to what’s going to put me in a position where I can continue to make a difference,” she said.
She did say that, at the moment, she can’t see herself running for public office again but didn’t rule it out, either.
Bustos said that she and her family made the decision for her to leave Congress about a month ago, at a family-only lunch held after the baptism of one of her grandchildren. Shortly after, at Easter, she said, they finalized the decision.
U.S. Rep Cheri Bustos
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos , D-Moline, and Community Health Clinic Chief Executive Officer Tom Bowman announce the opening of a COVID-19 testing center at the Moline Clinic.
Tom Loewy
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., speaks Tuesday, March 30, 2021, during a press conference unveiling plans for major terminal renovation at the Quad Cities International Airport, formerly known as the Quad City International Airport, in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN
Diane Reinsch of Moline speaks with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline after receiving her vaccine at the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline speaks with the media after a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline speaks with National Guard members during a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline outs her mask back on after speaking with the media after a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline speaks with National Guard members during a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
Mayor of Milan Duane Dawson listens to U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline speak with the media after a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
Diane Reinsch of Moline speaks with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline after receiving her vaccine at the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline elbow bumps with Duane Dawson, mayor of Milan during a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline speaks with National Guard members during a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
Kimberley Vellenga of Moline, speaks with media after getting her vaccine next to U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
Diane Reinsch of Moline speaks with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., after receiving her vaccine at the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan in March.
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline outs her mask back on after speaking with the media after a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021. A note in U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline reads, "There are nearly 23,000 k-12 students in RICO & nearly 80% of them are in blended remote learning.".
Jessica Gallagher
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline speaks with National Guard members during a tour of the mass vaccination clinic at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
Nita Ludwig, administrator, Rock Island County Health Department speaks with media next to U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline at the Camden Centre in Milan where the national guard is assisting the Rock Island County Health Department, Monday, March 15, 2021.
Jessica Gallagher
Tenisha DeRoin, community relations coordinator, speaks with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, at Moline Familia Dental Wednesday in Moline. Molina Healthcare of Illinois is partnering with Familia Dental for a month-long series of “Molina Dental Days.” Seventy-five Molina Healthcare members and their families will be able to make dental appointments at the Moline Familia Dental location from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN
FILE: U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, chats with Cortez Branigan, of East Moline, during his dental appointment at Moline Familia Dental Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, (center) is sworn in to a fifth term at the U.S. Capitol building on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, as part of the 117th Congress.
Contributed
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, participates Monday in a candidate forum hosted by the NAACP, Rock Island County Branch.
Sarah Hayden
Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, State Rep. Mike Halpin, Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri and other local leaders talk about the Child Care Restoration Grants program that will provide emergency relief to childcare providers at Skip-a-Long Child Development Services on 60th Street in Moline Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
KEVIN E. SCHMIDT
Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, State Rep. Mike Halpin, Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri and other local leaders talk about the Child Care Restoration Grants program that will provide emergency relief to childcare providers at Skip-a-Long Child Development Services on 60th Street in Moline Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
KEVIN E. SCHMIDT
Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, State Rep. Mike Halpin, Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri and other local leaders talk about the Child Care Restoration Grants program that will provide emergency relief to childcare providers at Skip-a-Long Child Development Services on 60th Street in Moline Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
KEVIN E. SCHMIDT
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline.
FILE PHOTO
Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, State Rep. Mike Halpin, Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri and other local leaders talk about the Child Care Restoration Grants program that will provide emergency relief to childcare providers at Skip-a-Long Child Development Services on 60th Street in Moline Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
KEVIN E. SCHMIDT
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, right talks during a press conference about the Child Care Restoration Grants program that will provide emergency relief to childcare providers like Skip-a-Long Child Development Services on 60th Street in Moline Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
KEVIN E. SCHMIDT
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, left elbow bumbs Ill. Gov. JB Pritzker prior to a press conference about the Child Care Restoration Grants program that will provide emergency relief to childcare providers like Skip-a-Long Child Development Services on 60th Street in Moline Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
KEVIN E. SCHMIDT
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, left talks during a press conference about the Child Care Restoration Grants program that will provide emergency relief to childcare providers like Skip-a-Long Child Development Services on 60th Street in Moline Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
KEVIN E. SCHMIDT
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, listens while hearing about the ventilators and face shields being made at the Center of Excellence at Rock Island Arsenal, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
The Rock Island Arsenal's Joint Manufacturing Technology Center (JMTC) will receive $10 million toward the manufacturing of parts for combat vehicles. Rep. Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy toured the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
A crowd gathers and listens while U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Cheri Bustos and Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan McCarthy tour the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, April 17, 2020.
JESSICA GALLAGHER /
Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., speaks to reporters before the fourth annual Women's March on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at City Market in Rockford, Ill. (Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star via AP)
Scott P. Yates
Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., speaks to reporters before the fourth annual Women's March on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at City Market in Rockford, Ill. (Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star via AP)
Scott P. Yates
Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., speaks during the fourth annual Women's March on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at City Market in Rockford, Ill. (Scott P. Yates/Rockford Register Star via AP)
Scott P. Yates
Thurgood Brooks, of Rock Island, chats with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, during the 37th Annual Memorial Service and Awards Celebration in honor of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Center Jan. 20, 2020, in Rock Island.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, listens during the 37th Annual Memorial Service and Awards Celebration in honor of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Center Jan. 20, 2020, in Rock Island.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos walks with construction workers ending a tour of the Interstate 74 bridge construction site in Moline, Thursday. Bustos commended the collaboration between the Illinois and Iowa departments of transportation, contractors and laborers in order to build the bridge.
Andy Abeyta,
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, speaks to union members at the IBEW in Moline on Thursday following the termination of six high-level staffers at the DCCC on Monday in response to the lack of diversity at the organization.
SARAH HAYDEN,
Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., has represented Illinois Congressional District 17 since 2012. She rose to power as the chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, though she did not seek that position again after Democrats had a disappointing performance in the 2020 election.
AP
Kathleen J.H. Sparbel, the director of UIC-QC, left, and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, center, listen at a roundtable on rural nursing in Moline on Monday, June 17, 2019. A training manikin reclines on a patient table in the background.
Graham Ambrose
Mike Tapia, third from left, a nurse and student at UIC-Quad Cities, talks about his upbringing and career before Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, in Moline on Monday, June 17, 2019.
Graham Ambrose
U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, right, listens as nurse and UIC-Quad Cities student Mike Tapia, left, talks about his education, on Monday, June 17, 2019.
Graham Ambrose
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, left, and nurse Melissa Bradley, center, inspect a training manikin in Moline on Monday, June 17, 2019.
Graham Ambrose
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, center, listens as nurse and UIC-Quad Cities student Mike Tapia talks about growing up in Taylor Ridge, Ill., in Moline on Monday, June 17, 2019.
Graham Ambrose
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, center, laughs during an Infrastructure Roundtable discussion Tuesday, April 23, 2019, MetroLink Centre Station in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, second from left, listens as Jeff Nelson, with MetroLink, speaks during an Infrastructure Roundtable discussion Tuesday at MetroLink Centre Station in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, speaks during an Infrastructure Roundtable discussion Tuesday, April 23, 2019, MetroLink Centre Station in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, hosts an Infrastructure Roundtable discussion Tuesday, April 23, 2019, MetroLink Centre Station in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline listens to Jeff Nelson, general manager at MetroLINK, during an Infrastructure Roundtable discussion at MetroLink Centre Station Tuesday, April 23, 2019, in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, chats with Jeff Nelson, with MetroLink, during an Infrastructure Roundtable discussion Tuesday, April 23, 2019, MetroLink Centre Station in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
Denise Bulat, Bi-State Regional Commission, and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, laugh during an Infrastructure Roundtable discussion Tuesday, April 23, 2019, MetroLink Centre Station in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
Jerry Shirk, Rock Island County EMA Assistant Coordinator and Mindy Meyers, Rock Island County EMA Coordinator, speak with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, before holding a press conference to address flooding Friday, March 22, 2019, near Harold’s Landing Park in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, and Mindy Meyers, Rock Island County EMA Coordinator, look at the flooding along North Shore Drive before holding a press conference to address flooding Friday near Harold’s Landing Park in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, and Mindy Meyers, Rock Island County EMA Coordinator, hold a press conference to address flooding Friday, March 22, 2019, near Harold’s Landing Park in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
Jerry Shirk, Rock Island County EMA Assistant Coordinator, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, and Mindy Meyers, Rock Island County EMA Coordinator, hold a press conference to address flooding Friday, March 22, 2019, near Harold’s Landing Park in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
Jerry Shirk, Rock Island County EMA Assistant Coordinator, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, and Mindy Meyers, Rock Island County EMA Coordinator, hold a press conference to address flooding Friday, March 22, 2019, near Harold’s Landing Park in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
Jerry Shirk, Rock Island County EMA Assistant Coordinator, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, listen to Mindy Meyers, Rock Island County EMA Coordinator, speak during a press conference to address flooding Friday, March 22, 2019, near Harold’s Landing Park in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
A boat is tethered to a stop sign surrounded by flood water from the Rock River near Harold's Landing Thursday in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
A home is surrounded by flood waters from the Rock River Thursday along North Shore Drive in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
A home is surrounded by flood waters from the Rock River Thursday, March 21, 2019, along North Shore Drive in Moline.
MEG MCLAUGHLIN/
Trinity President and CEO Rick Seidler speaks to U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., before a tour Friday, March 27, 2015, of the heart center and emergency department in Rock Island.
JEFF COOK
Rock Island High School sophomore Brea Beal and other Girls Basketball teammates listen to Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) talk about her athletic career Friday, March 31, 2017. Bustos presented a Congressional Record statement to Beal, recognizing her for being named Ms. Basketball of Illinois 2017.
Kevin E. Schmidt
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx points to the I-74 bridge, Thursday, April 24,2014, while talking with Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-ILL. and Dave Loebsack, D-IA. while walking through Leach Park. The secretary is in town to get briefed on the I-74 bridge project.
John Schultz
Bruce Braley, left, Dave Loebsack, center, and Cheri Bustos tour Lock and Dam 15 at Rock Island, on the first stop of their travels on Tuesday April 30, 2013, to view flood damage on the Mississippi River and tour Locks and Dams and to discuss infrastructure investment.
QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton reaches out to hug Senatorial Candidate Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, after greeting U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-IL, on stage at the 49th annual Salute to Labor Chicken Fry at Illiniwek Park in Hampton on Monday, September 5, 2016. The presidential hopeful returned to the event for the second consecutive year after campaigning in both Pennsylvania and Ohio earlier in the day.
QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
First lady Michelle Obama waves to the crowd as U.S Rep. Cheri Bustos, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin cheer from behind, Saturday, November 1, 2014, during a rally for the three incumbents at Wharton Field House in Moline.
QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
Congresswomen Cheri Bustos, takes the stage at her acceptance party at the Holiday Inn in Rock Island.
Louis Brems
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, says a few words about veterans, Saturday, November 8, 2014, during Hero Street Monument ceremonies in Silvis.
John Schultz
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., greets people at the Kraft plant in Davenport Tuesday November 8, 2016.
QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos D-Ill. greets people after a ceremony paying tribute to veterans at the National Cemetery on the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, Illinois Monday November 11, 2013.
Jeff Cook
Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa and Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill watch as a Civil Air Partol member, and Anthony Bryant, commander sergeant major with the Joint Munitions Command on Arsenal Island, place a wreath at the flagpole in the National Cemetery on the island, Saturday, December 14, 2013, during the Wreaths Across America ceremony. A national effort to remember military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos greets a well wisher at the college's Sustainable Technologies Building in Moline on Friday April 5, 2013. Black Hawk College is Bustos last stop on her "Communities Working Together for Jobs" tour to visit all seven community colleges that serve the 17th Congressional District. (Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES)
Larry Fisher
Cheri Bustos waves to an enthuseastic crowd as she takes the podium, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, at the Holiday Inn in Rock Island. She defeated Bobby Schilling. (John Schultz / Quad-City Times)
John Schultz
Cheri Bustos celebrates her victory Tuesday, March 20, 2012, in the Democratic primary in Illinois' 17th Congressional District.
QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
In a photo provided by her office, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., left, joins Democratic colleagues in a sit-in Wednesday, June 22, 2016, to protest the lack of action on gun bills.
Cheri Bustos, Democratic candidate for Congress, greets supporters during the East Moline Labor Day Parade in 2012.
QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio performs a mock swearing in for Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., surrounded by her family, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington, as the 113th Congress began.
AP
Surrounded by representatives from the USO, Army Community Services and U.S. Army, Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., helps cut the ribbon Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, for the reopening of the expanded USO Rock Island Center in Building 110 at the Rock Island Arsenal. (Photo by Kevin E. Schmidt/Quad-City Times)
Kevin E. Schmidt
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