Jerry Costello

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox officeholder Jerry Francis Costello (born September 25, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for Template:Ushr. He previously represented Template:Ushr and served in the US House from 1988 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was the dean of Illinois's 21-member congressional delegation. In October 2011, Costello announced that he would not seek another term in Congress in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was succeeded by William Enyart.

Early life, education, and early career

Costello was born in East St. Louis, Illinois and attended Catholic schools, graduating from Assumption High School. He was later educated at Maryville College of the Sacred Heart in St. Louis, from which he earned a bachelor's degree.

Costello worked in the law enforcement field. He served St. Clair County, Illinois as a court bailiff, deputy sheriff, and director of court services and probation. Costello later was chief investigator for the Illinois State Attorney’s office. In 1980, he was elected as chair of the St. Clair County Board. Costello served in this capacity as county executive until his election to the House.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Costello took office on in August 1988, after winning a special election with 51% of the vote, to fill the seat of the deceased Melvin Price.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was elected to a full term that November with 53% of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After that, he received at least 60% of the vote in all of his re-election bids, until his retirement in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Costello was the most senior member of Illinois' House delegation during his final term in office. On October 4, 2011, he announced he would not seek reelection in 2012.<ref>Rep. Jerry Costello won't seek re-election in 2012 Template:Webarchive, KSDK</ref> Costello was succeeded by William Enyart, who was elected on November 6, 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tenure

Costello served on the National Leadership Committee of then-Senator Barack Obama's National Catholic Advisory Council during his 2008 election campaign.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Shortly after the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, Costello was prominently mentioned as a possible cabinet choice for Secretary of Transportation; the nomination eventually went to fellow Illinois Representative Ray LaHood. Template:Citation needed

In 2011, Costello co-sponsored HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would strictly limit the situations in which abortion could be paid for by public funds.<ref name="HR3">Template:Cite web</ref> Costello is a member of the Reformers Caucus of Issue One.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1997 ethics complaint

In 1996, federal prosecutors alleged that Costello was an unindicted co-conspirator in a plan to build a riverboat casino. At the end of an investigation and trial, a longtime friend of Costello's was sentenced to six years in prison for obstruction of justice. Costello testified before a grand jury in regard to the matter, but was not indicted or charged in the case. He denied any involvement. In 1997, the Congressional Accountability Project filed an ethics complaint requesting investigation of Costello which resulted in no action.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Committee assignments

• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation (Ranking member)
  • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Post-House

In 2016, Costello was a presidential elector from Illinois.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Costello was originally intended to be an elector in the 2020 election as well; however, in the official vote he was replaced by Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Template:CongLinks
• Template:C-SPAN

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