Costello appointed to lead Illinois Department of Agriculture

Posted on February 28, 2020
Jerry Costello II represented the 116th district in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019, during which he served as chair the Agriculture and Conservation committee. (Photo ilga.gov)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Jerry Costello II, a former state lawmaker from southern Illinois, is the new acting director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. He had been head of the conservation police at the Department of Natural Resources since shortly after Gov. JB Pritzker took office.

Costello, whose father is a former Congressman also named Jerry Costello, is a veteran both of the Army in Iraq, and of law enforcement. The appointment is pending Senate confirmation.

Costello takes the place of John Sullivan, ousted after evidence turned up that lobbyist Mike McClain’s “rape in Champaign” email had been in his Inbox in 2012. The man lauded for covering up the rape and ghost payrolling was a constituent of then-Sen. Sullivan.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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