Democrat Cheri Bustos to retire from Congress Posted on Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) announced Friday she won't seek reelection in 2022. “As I have rounded each new decade of my career, I’ve taken time to reflect on how I can best serve. That’s how, 10 years ago, I decided to run for Congress,” Bustos said in a video announcing her decision. “And it’s why today, I’m announcing I will not seek reelection after completing this term. It will be a new decade, and I feel it’s time for a new voice.” Bustos, a former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chairwoman who led her party’s efforts to recapture the House majority in 2018, has faced increasingly difficult political prospects as her western Illinois congressional district has drifted rightward.