Springfield native Cheri Bustos may be out of Congress, but she is still busy, and she laments the partisan nature of 21st Century politics.

As the daughter and granddaughter of politically active Democrats, “we were Democrats, but Republicans were not our enemy. Many were our friends, in fact, but we always viewed it as, look, there are some different views that we have, but there’s a lot of ways we can work together,” said Bustos. “I think that is an old-fashioned view for a lot of people now, and a lot of people are not practicing that.”

Bustos, who represented parts of Peoria and the Quad Cities for five terms, says things have changed drastically, and not for the better.

“I loved 95 percent of my job when I was in Congress, but the (other) five percent was pretty tough,” Bustos continued, “and when I talk with my former colleagues now about what is going on, they say, it is unbelievable how dysfunctional this place is.”

Bustos now works for a communications and public affairs firm and heads up its Chicago and Springfield offices.