Barely three weeks after retiring from Congress Cheri Bustos is back at work organizing the first Illinois office for Mercury, a global, bipartisan strategy firm; and preparing to join the prestigious Harvard Institute of Politics.

The announcement about the former five-time Democratic congresswoman, Democratic U.S. House leader and East Moline alderwoman is likely to end months of speculation in the Quad Cities about where Ms. Bustos would land next.

As co-chair of Mercury’s team in Washington, D.C., and head of Mercury’s team in Illinois, the firm said in a news release, the former Illinois 17th District Congressional representative will divide her time between operations in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. 

Ms. Bustos told the QCBJ this week that she chose Mercury “because it is bipartisan to its core. That was important to me. And they want me to open an Illinois operation. I can work with people and organizations and firms that fit with what I believe in. I can build a team from scratch. And I can still be involved in politics and help elect great people.”

Those efforts to help people get elected also played a part in Ms. Bustos’ selection as a Spring 2023 visiting fellow to the Harvard institute.

In its recent news release, the Harvard Institute of Politics said, “Congresswoman Bustos pioneered her own highly successful candidate training program called Build the Bench and served in House leadership for most of her career. She has never lost an election, winning two for city council and five for Congress in one of America’s toughest swing districts.”

The Build the Bench program has trained more than 400 participants, and its graduates have run for office with a more than 50% success rate. Ms. Bustos also is a founding board member of Elect Democratic Women, which raised close to $10 million in the 2022 Election. 

Ms. Bustos intends to draw on some of those experiences during the fellowship.

“My theme is ‘Finding Common Ground in Uncommon Places,’” she told the QCBJ. “It’s about mainstream, pro-democracy politics, a Dem in a Trump District, bipartisanship; results politics vs. performative politics.”

Among those cheering the former congresswoman’s second act is Doug House, former Rock Island County Democratic Party chairman and longtime supporter of Ms. Bustos. “I am pleased to learn of Cheri Bustos’ fellowship with Harvard University Institute of Politics and her new role as Illinois director and national co-chair of Mercury,” he said. “Like her service in Congress, these new roles will elevate our collective voices and our Midwestern values globally.” 

Mercury describes itself as a high-stakes firm that provides a comprehensive suite of services in federal government relations, international affairs, digital influence, public opinion research, media strategy and a bipartisan grassroots mobilization network in all 50 states.

In addition to co-chairing the D.C. office, Ms. Bustos will help lead Mercury’s client-relations and business growth throughout the State of Illinois and the Midwest, the firm said. 

She joins a network of Democratic leaders at Mercury including: Ashley Walker, the 2012 state director for Obama for America in Florida; Jordan Kaplan, the former chief development officer for the Obama Foundation; former Reps. Toby Moffett, D-Connecticut, and Joe Garcia, D-Florida; Michael Hardaway, a former top advisor to House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York; and Andy Vargas, longtime aide to Vice President Kamala Harris. 

 ”We are beyond thrilled to start the year by welcoming Cheri to Mercury, where she will help lead our firm in providing exceptional public strategy to clients,” Mr. Moffett said.  “As former members of Congress, Cheri and I share a common goal to use our experience to solve problems, build consensus and focus on the issues that matter most to each of us, and Mercury provides us with that unique opportunity.” 

Added Mercury CEO Kieran Mahoney: “Cheri’s electoral track record and her experience in communications and journalism make her a natural fit for consulting on public strategy and achieving outcomes for our clients. Cheri has a stellar reputation and has achieved success at every step of her career, and we are excited to have someone of her caliber join our leadership team in Washington and help us grow in Illinois and nationally.” 

Mercury boasts U.S. offices in Washington, D.C., as well as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Montana, Texas and South Carolina, and is part of the Omnicom Public Relations Group. 

Mercury also highlighted Ms. Bustos’ experience in Washington including serving on the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. While on the appropriations panel, she served on powerful subcommittees including: Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; Energy and Water; and Military Construction and Veterans Administration. 

In addition, she co-chaired the House Steering and Policy Committee; the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee; and played a key role in Democrats taking the majority; and chairing the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee. In 2020, she chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and helped raise a record-breaking one-third of a billion dollars for the organization.

Regarding her move to Mercury, Ms. Bustos said in the firm’s news release: “I’ve spent decades solving complicated problems and working to build consensus both in and out of government, and I am thrilled to bring that experience to one of the top bipartisan public strategy firms in America. I look forward to using my skills and experience in communications and journalism, as well as my legislative and political background, to provide strategy and value to clients across various sectors.”