Jerry Costello

For his son, see Jerry Costello II.

Jerry Costello
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office August 9, 1988
Preceded by	Melvin Price
Personal details
Born	September 25, 1949 (1949-09-25) (age 62) East St. Louis, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Georgia Cockrum
Residence	Belleville, Illinois
Alma mater	Maryville University
Occupation	Bailiff, law enforcement officer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jerry Francis Costello (born September 25, 1949) is the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 12th congressional district, serving since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the dean of Illinois's 21-member Congressional delegation.

The 12th district includes the St. Louis area suburb cities and stretches to deep Southern Illinois.

Early life, education and 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 to the St. Clair County Board and was chosen as chairman. Costello served in this capacity as county executive until his election to the House.

U.S. House of Representatives

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

Costello served on the National Leadership Committee of then-Senator Obama's National Catholic Advisory Council during his 2008 election campaign.^[1] The NCAC stumped for candidate Barack Obama during the later days of the 2008 primary campaign.

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.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, he 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.^[2]

Political campaigns

Costello took office on August 9, 1988 after winning a special election to fill the seat of the deceased Melvin Price. He was elected to a full term that November, and has been reelected to every succeeding Congress; currently he is the most senior member of Illinois's House delegation. In 2006, he ran unopposed for the office. He was reelected easily in 2008. On October 4, 2011 he announced he would not seek reelection in 2012.^[3]

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.^[4]

References

1. ^ Dan Gilgoff (2008-04-11). "Obama's Catholic Committee: The Lineup - God-o-Meter". Blog.beliefnet.com. http://blog.beliefnet.com/godometer/2008/04/obamas-catholic-committee-the.html. Retrieved 2010-08-23. 
2. ^ Full text of House Resolution 3: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
3. ^ Rep. Jerry Costello won't seek re-election in 2012, KSDK
4. ^ "After 7 Months in Limbo, Ethics Panel Is Back". The New York Times. 12 September 1997. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/12/us/after-7-months-in-limbo-ethics-panel-is-back.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 20 September, 2011. 

External links

• U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello official U.S. House site
• Costello for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Melvin Price	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 21st congressional district 1989–1993	Succeeded by District Dissolved after 1990 Census
Preceded by Philip M. Crane	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 12th congressional district 1993–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Nancy Pelosi D-California	United States Representatives by seniority 40th	Succeeded by Frank Pallone D-New Jersey

Persondata
Name	Costello, Jerry
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 25, 1949
Place of birth	East St. Louis, Illinois
Date of death
Place of death