Quote of the Day
“By 45% to 32%, more Americans want their member of Congress to vote for rather than against a jobs bill similar to the one President Obama proposed last week…a solid majority of Americans who are following news of the bill very closely, 57%, want to see it passed.”
- Gallup, 9/14/11
For Release: Friday, January 27, 2012
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661
COSTELLO RECEIVES RCGA’S HIGHEST ANNUAL HONOR - THE “RIGHT ARM OF ST. LOUIS” AWARD
BELLEVILLE – U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) was honored last night with the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association’s (RCGA’s) Right Arm of St. Louis Award at the organization’s 2012 Annual Meeting & Dinner. Since 1975, the award is the most prestigious given by the RCGA, and acknowledges outstanding contributions to St. Louis and the region.
Costello has represented Southwestern and Southern Illinois in the Congress since August of 1988 and announced last October that he would not run for re-election in 2012. He is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and served as St. Clair County Board Chair from 1980 – 1988.
In all of these roles, Costello has made developing a regional multi-modal transportation network to foster economic development and improve quality of life a top priority. He has been involved in most, if not all, of the bi-state region’s major transportation projects over the last 30 years, including the Clark Bridge, the creation and development of MetroLink, countless road improvement projects, improving levees on the Mississippi River, the New Mississippi River Bridge, the redevelopment of the Melvin Price Support Center, the St. Louis to Chicago high-speed rail corridor, and many others. In addition, he has led the effort to maintain and expand missions at Scott Air Force Base, the largest employer in Illinois south of Springfield and the fourth largest in the region.
“I believe wholeheartedly in the critical role that a well-developed transportation system plays in making our economy efficient and maximizing the central location of the bi-state region. We have direct access to major highways, waterways, ports, railroad networks and aviation hubs, and ensuring that these all work together is the key to future development and job creation. Most importantly, I have always tried to approach these issues from a regional perspective. We achieve so much more when we work together as the bi-state region, not just as Missouri and Illinois.”
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