Jerry Costello II
Jerry Costello was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, who represented the 116th district from his appointment in July 2011 to succeed Dan Reitz until his resignation in May 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 116th district includes all or parts of Cahokia, Chester, Columbia, Dupo, East Carondelet, East St. Louis, Red Bud, Smithton, Sparta and Waterloo.
He is the son of former U.S. Representative Jerry Costello, whose district overlapped his son's. In 2018, Jerry Costello Jr. was named by J.B. Pritzker a member of the Prtizker's Agriculture Transition Committee. On May 7, 2019, Costello resigned from the Illinois House of Representatives to take the position of Director of Law Enforcement at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. He was succeeded by Steeleville Village Trustee Nathan Reitz.
On February 28, 2020, Governor Pritzker announced his appointment of Costello to serve as the Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. As of June 29, 2020, Costello is awaiting confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
