Jerry Costello (born February 13, 1969) is the Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Prior, he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. until his resignation in May 2019. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early and personal life

He is the son of former U.S. Representative

Jerry Costello Jerry Francis Costello (born September 25, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for . He previously represented and served in the US House from 1988 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was the dean of Il ...

, whose district overlapped his son's.

Legislative career

Democratic incumbent Dan Reitz resigned from the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

effective June 25, 2011. The Democratic Representative Committee of the 116th Representative District appointed Costello to fill the resulting vacancy for the remainder of 97th General Assembly. On July 25, 2011, Costello was sworn into office. The 116th district includes all or parts of

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south-w ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, Columbia, Dupo, East Carondelet,

East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, Red Bud, Smithton,

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

. After the 2011 decennial reapportionment, the 116th district retained its territory and was extended eastward to add

Du Quoin Du Quoin ( ) is a city in Perry County, Illinois. It is best known for hosting the annual DuQuoin State Fair and the Street Machine Nationals. The population is estimated at 5,761 in the 2020 census. Geography Du Quoin is located at (38.0068, ...

to the district. Costello resigned from the Illinois House of Representatives effective May 7, 2019, to become the Director of Law Enforcement at the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

. The Democratic Representative Committee of the 116th Representative District appointed

Nathan Reitz Nathan D. Reitz is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 116th district. The 116th, located in Southern Illinois, includes all or portions of Monroe, Perry, Randolph, and St. Clair counties. Reitz was app ...

, a village trustee for Steeleville, to fill the vacancy. Reitz took office on May 9, 2019.

Executive branch

In 2018, Jerry Costello Jr. was named by

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the List of governors of Illinois, 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker fami ...

a member of the Prtizker's Agriculture Transition Committee. On February 28, 2020, Governor Pritzker announced his appointment of Costello to serve as the Director of the

Illinois Department of Agriculture The Illinois Department of Agriculture is the code department of the Illinois state government that regulates various facets of the agriculture industries of Illinois, oversees Illinois soil and water conservation, supervises the weights and meas ...

. On April 20, 2021, Costello was confirmed by the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

References

External links

Representative Jerry F. Costello, II (D) 116th District
at the Illinois General Assembly **By session
98th97th
*

at Illinois House Democrats Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Living people State cabinet secretaries of Illinois People from Belleville, Illinois People from St. Clair County, Illinois 1969 births Southern Illinois University alumni American municipal police officers 21st-century American politicians {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub