Former member of Congress · last served 112th Congress
Jerry F. Costello
Jerry Costello was a Democratic U.S. representative from Illinois, first elected to Congress in 1987, who voted with most Democrats on 82% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 10 bills that became law (100th–112th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- YeaOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- NayOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.R. 6450 Local Modifications to Federal Flood Control Projects Act of 2012Sep 21, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- H.R. 5811 To suspend temporarily the duty on certain parts of cupping presses.May 21, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- H.R. 5810 To suspend temporarily the duty on certain tool blocks.May 21, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- H.R. 5809 To suspend temporarily the duty on certain cupping machines.May 21, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- H.R. 5808 To suspend temporarily the duty on certain horizontally-oriented lead shot machines.May 21, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 6061 (110th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 219 East Main Street in West Frankfort, Illinois, as the "Kenneth James Gray Post…Became law
- H.R. 2926 (102nd) To amend the Act of May 17, 1954, relating to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to authorize increased funding for the East Saint Louis portion of the…Became law
- H.R. 2938 (111th) To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project.Became law
- H.R. 3093 (107th) To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 501 Bell Street in Alton, Illinois, as the "William L. Beatty Federal Building and…Became law
- H.R. 511 (111th) To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to terminate certain easements held by the Secretary on land owned by the Village of Caseyville, Illinois, and to…Became law
- H.R. 2737 (106th) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the State of Illinois certain Federal land associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail…Became law
- H.R. 2630 (104th) To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Illinois.Became law
- H.R. 2890 (101st) To redesignate the Federal buildings and court house located in East St. Louis, Illinois, as the "Melvin Price Federal Courthouse".Became law
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Costello has won
Rep. Costello has won 12 U.S. House elections (1988–2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 5.2 to 46.5 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has Illinois’s 12th district done while Rep. Costello served?
2005 to 2011 in IL-12: typical household income was about the same after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 5.5 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was about the same.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Illinois’s 12th district during Costello’s time representing it (1993 to 2013). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. IL-12 was redrawn in 2012 and again in 2022, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2005 to 2011 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 1993 to 2013.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
112th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 7 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 7 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 7 | See the 7 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a committee report listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a Congress.gov note | 1 | See the 1 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 112th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.