Gov. Pritzker Announces Two Appointments to Boards and Commissions

Wilbur Milhouse III will serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.* Wilbur Milhouse III has over thirty years of experience in civil and structural engineering, and currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Inc. His firm has worked on several projects across the city including the O'Hare International Airport Runway, the Public Building Commission of Chicago Program Management, and the Chicago Department of Water Management Program Management. In addition to his engineering firm, Milhouse has founded a non-profit organization called Milhouse Charities, which helps advance academic achievements and opportunities for youth in underrepresented communities. He served as a Director of Operations at Infrastructure Engineering, Inc. and as a Project Manager and Deputy Office Manager for Patrick Engineering. He has received several notable awards including Crain's Chicago Business ‘Notable executives of color in Construction and Commercial Real Estate' and ‘Notable Black Leaders & Executives,' Grainger College of Engineering Alumni Award for Distinguished Service, and National Society of Black Engineers Dynamic Engineers Innovating Change Award. Milhouse received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, and a Master of Science in Structural Engineer and Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Rita Athas will continue to serve as a Member for Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees.* Rita Athas has been serving on the Board of Trustee of Northern Illinois University since 2013. Prior, she was a Senior Advisor with World Business Chicago (WBC) after serving as president from 2007 to 2013. Under Athas' leadership, WBC was consistently ranked as one of the top economic development organizations in the country and always placed as one of the top three cities for the number of new businesses. Athas also served as Mayor Richard M. Daley's Deputy Chief of Staff for External Affairs for 10 years, working as a liaison between regional mayors, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the business community, and foundations. Athas has a long history with local government, serving in various positions with a number of suburban municipalities and as Executive Director of the Northwest Municipal Conference. She is currently the Co-Chair of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council and on the boards of Metropolis Strategies, CEOs for Cities, and the Metropolitan Planning Council. She received a Master of Public Administration from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Arts from Elmhurst College.