On Thursday, December8, 2022, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos released a video that tells the story behind the 120 Cheri-on-Shifts she completed throughout her decade of service. Since elected to Congress, Bustos has traveled across Northwest and Central Illinois, on 120 Cheri-on-Shift job shadowing stops. During these visits, she walked in the shoes of local workers, to learn more about the jobs sustaining communities across our region.
Now, Bustos released a three-minute video, that tells the story behind those 120 stops, and how they helped her serve Illinois: “The Story Behind A Decade of Cheri-on-Shifts.”
Over the years, Bustos has learned how to drive a forklift; spot-weld on cars; process carp from the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers; inspect airfields; replace lead water lines. Most importantly, these visits helped her bring the voices of her constituents with her to Washington, over the past decade.
Bustos recently completed her final Cheri-on-Shift at the Blaum Bros. Distilling Company in Galena, IL, where she spotlighted the local, family-owned distillery.
Excerpts from Bustos’ remarks.
“I have done 120 Cheri-on-Shifts. This is something that we started in my very first term. It is a way to get a feel for what people do for a living; how they support their families; their struggles; why they take pride in their jobs.”
“We have a very large Congressional District. It is 7000 square miles, 14 Counties, and 711,000 people. Through these Cheri-on-Shifts, we went literally everywhere.”
“It is the way that I really understand just how hard people work. I always like to ask the question, ‘Well, what do you do for fun?’ I was with a Home Care Nurse, and she said, ‘We have cable.’ I said, ‘Well, don’’’t you like to go to the movies?,’ and she said, ‘Well, we really can’t, because, by the time you buy four tickets, and soda and popcorn, it really isn’t affordable to us.'”
“When you look at things like a living wage, making sure that people can afford their health care, all of those kinds of decisions that I’ve made when I put my voting card in and vote on the House Floor, are influenced by what I’ve learned and the people I’ve met, especially through my Cheri-on-Shifts.”
“We learned several years ago that there were these solid lead pipes that were all over our Congressional District. My job was to get rid of lead pipes, that deliver water from a watermain into peoples’ homes.”
“We’ve worked very, very hard representing this Congressional District, bringing millions of dollars back home, to be able to replace these lead water pipes.”
“It is the people back home who are my boss, and I just wanted to make sure I never lost sight of that. Doing our Cheri-on-Shifts was really the best way that we could think of, to make sure that never happened.”