Elgin businessman to head state housing agency
Joseph P. Galvan, an unsuccessful candidate for the Elgin mayor's office in April, has been tabbed to head the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed Galvan, 59, to the unpaid position of chairman of the housing agency.
"I am looking to serving the governor and the state of Illinois to provide, safe, decent and affordable housing throughout the state," Galvan said Saturday.
Principal of Galvan and Associates housing development and consulting practice, the Elgin businessman has 30 years of experience in the public and private sector. His prior work includes eight years at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he was appointed by President George W. Bush to oversee HUD's Midwest operations.
"I was responsible for all the federal housing projects in a six-state area," said Galvan, who managed a $16 billion budget.
Galvan, the grandson of Mexican immigrants, made a bid this April to become the first Hispanic mayor of Elgin, and was endorsed by local Tea Party favorite and former Congressman Joe Walsh and other conservatives. But he lost by more than a two-to-one margin to incumbent Mayor David Kaptain. Galvan and his wife, Teresa, have two grown children.
The governor also nominated James Dimas as the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services, and Anna Hui as the assistant director of the Illinois Department of Labor. Dimas, owner of a consultant business near Baltimore, has served as acting director of community operations for that human services department. Hui, a senior adviser at The Heritage Foundation, previously worked in Washington, D.C., as the former associate deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.