Sept. 25, 1949: Jerry Costello is born in East St. Louis.

1970s: After graduating from Assumption High School and Maryville College, Costello begins working his way up the St. Clair County Democratic ladder, as a county court bailiff, deputy sheriff, state’s attorney’s investigator and court services administrator.

November 1980: Costello is elected St. Clair County Board chairman. August 1988: Wins a special election to replace the late U.S. Rep. Melvin Price, who held the 12th District seat for 44 years. Costello wins by fewer than 2,000 votes. In the general election three months later, he wins by more than 10,000 and easily wins all subsequent campaigns.

January 1991: Costello votes against authorizing President George H.W. Bush to use military force to remove the Iraqi army from Kuwait.

May 1993: Costello, while serving on the House Budget Committee, votes in favor of President Bill Clinton’s balanced budget proposal, which passes by one vote.

April 1997: Early on in the conspiracy and obstruction of justice trial of Amiel Cueto, Costello’s boyhood friend, Assistant U.S. attorney called Costello an “unindicted coconspirator,” a designation that does not necessarily mean the congressman broke laws. Costello denied the claims, as well as any criminal involvement with Cueto. Costello is never charged with a crime or misconduct.

November 1997: MidAmerica St. Louis Airport opens as a joint-use airport near Mascoutah, sharing a runway with Scott Air Force Base. Costello was instrumental in getting the ball rolling to build the airport while chairman of the St. Clair County Board, and later helped secure federal funding to build the facility.

August 2005: As a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Costello succeeds in securing $239 million for a new Mississippi River bridge, realigning Interstate 70 and linking southern Madison County with downtown St. Louis. After years of disagreements between Missouri and Illinois officials, the first major contracts are awarded in December 2009. Work is set to end in early 2014.

August 2010: Costello announces that the Boeing Corp. plans to open an aircraft subassembly plant at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. Boeing confirms it plans to create 75 new jobs in a facility built from the airport’s existing 50,000-square-foot cargo warehouse.

October 2011: Costello announces he is retiring from the U.S. House after 24 years.

Jan. 1, 2013: Costello casts his last U.S. House vote, supporting a bill to boost taxes on the top 2 percent of wage-earners and avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Costello in 1975