Governor Quinn Names Acting Executive Director of Capital Development Board

SPRINGFIELD – December 29, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today named Gus Behnke as the acting executive director of the Capital Development Board (CDB). Behnke will replace Executive Director Jim Riemer, who is retiring effective Dec. 31.

“I would like to thank Jim for his many years of service at the Capital Development Board, especially in these last two years as we have put people to work all over the state on projects through the Illinois Jobs Now! construction program,” said Governor Quinn. “Gus Behnke will help us maintain that progress as we continue to create jobs for Illinois workers while providing badly-needed state infrastructure improvements.”

Gevan J. “Gus” Behnke has been with CDB since January 1979 and has been the agency’s chief fiscal officer for the past 22 years. Behnke is a Bloomington native and has a bachelor’s degree in physics and math from Valparaiso University. He also holds a master’s degree in nuclear physics from Purdue University, as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Illinois State University. (Gevan Behnke Background)

Riemer has served as the CDB executive director since April 2008. He joined the CDB in 1987 and was named deputy director of the Construction Administration Division in 2003. Riemer also served as the agency’s statewide labor coordinator, and developed and promoted a positive labor/management relationship with the state’s 21 building and construction trades councils.

Prior to joining the CDB, Riemer spent 15 years working as a journeyman ironworker. He is a recipient of the Purple Heart after being wounded in action in Vietnam.

The Capital Development Board is the construction management arm of Illinois state government. With approximately 120 employees throughout the state, CDB oversees the design and construction of college and university facilities, public safety centers, museums and historic sites, state recreation areas, health centers, office buildings and prisons. In addition, CDB is responsible for repair and renovation projects at more than 8,400 state-owned properties, as well as the removal of environmental hazards and the upgrading of facilities to meet accessibility standards. The CDB also spearheads the state’s “Green Building” initiative to incorporate energy-saving, environmentally-friendly design elements in most state construction projects.