Jerry Costello II

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.

Early and personal life
He is the son of former U.S. Representative Jerry Costello, whose district overlapped his son's.

Legislative career
Democratic incumbent Dan Reitz resigned from the Illinois House of Representatives 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, Chester, Columbia, Dupo, East Carondelet, East St. Louis, Red Bud, Smithton, Sparta and Waterloo. After the 2011 decennial reapportionment, the 116th district retained its territory and was extended eastward to add Du Quoin 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 Democratic Representative Committee of the 116th Representative District appointed Nathan Reitz, 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 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. On April 20, 2021, Costello was confirmed by the Illinois Senate.