Former Congresswoman Cheri Bustos is a partner at Mercury, co-chair of Mercury’s Washington, D.C., office and head of the firm’s Illinois and Midwestern operations. As a former senior member of Congressional leadership with a long career in both the public and private sectors, Bustos brings decades of experience in politics, journalism, healthcare and communications.

While representing Illinois’ 17th Congressional District for a decade, Bustos held powerful roles in leadership, serving as Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy; Co-Chairing the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, playing a key role in Democrats taking the majority; and chairing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a third-of-a-billion-dollar political operation, working with every House Democrat in the toughest districts in America.

Bustos served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, including on some of the most high-powered subcommittees: Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; Energy and Water; and Military Construction and Veterans Administration. She also served on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and the House Agriculture Committee, chairing the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management subcommittee.

Outside of her public service work, Bustos has helped advance the next generation of Democratic leaders, serving as vice chair of candidate recruitment and chair of the Heartland Engagement strategy in the highly successful 2018 winning election cycle. Additionally, Bustos is the founder of Build the Bench, a program focused on identifying and training individuals interested in running for office at all levels. And she is a Founding Board Member of Elect Democratic Women, which raised close to $10 million in the last election cycle.

Bustos was a 2023 Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. She holds a Bachelor’s in Government & Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master’s in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield.