Plainfield Man Announces Bid for County Board Seat

Political newcomer Mike Costello is collecting signatures to run for a Will County Board District 5 seat in the March 20, 2012, election.

Costello, 29, is an Oak Forest native who has lived in Plainfield since 2005. He said his reasons for running are two-fold: A desire to get more involved in local government and the belief that his civil engineering skills can be beneficial to the board.

"There is not a single issue that I am running on," he said. "I've long had an interest in learning how government works, and I'm ready to get more involved in that.

"I'm not so much critical of the board, this isn't a vote-one-guy-in-and-the-other-guy-out situation. ... I do think I have a good skill set that will help the board priortize where the money gets spent."

When it comes to the county's $171 million budget, Costello said he knows the bottom line is there are really only three options: Make cuts, increase taxes or find ways to increase the tax base. It's the latter that he hopes to help make happen, but it's also a board member's responsibility to make the hard decisions when it comes to the other two, he said.

Costello is married with two daughters. He attended Providence High School in New Lenox and graduated with a civil engineering degree from Purdue University in Indiana.

He said he considers himself a moderate Democrat.

Because of the county redistricting, which happens every 10 years in conjunction with the new U.S. Census results, the Will County Board now has 13 districts with two representatives from each.

Current District 5 representatives are John Argoudelis, Lee Ann Goodson and Brian Smith.

Smith is not seeking re-election, opting instead to . Argoudelis has announced his , while Goodson has not. However, her recent appointment as the board's makes it likely she will be seeking another term.

Costello can be reached at mike.costello33@gmail.com.