The Housing and Insurance Subcommittee met recently to examine misconduct allegations regarding the Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) in Cairo, Illinois.
Subcommittee Chairman Sean Duffy (R-WI) said the hearing stemmed from an effort to garner details of ACHA’s role in allowing living conditions in both the Elmwood and McBride housing developments to deteriorate so much that HUD has to demolish both of them and has taken over possession of housing authority.
“What’s even more frightening is this could just be the tip of the iceberg, as 50 other Public Housing Authorities (PHA) have been designated as troubled by the HUD Inspector General,” Duffy said. “We have to make sure all 3,300 PHA’s comply with HUD’s policies and address health and safety hazards to make sure another situation like Cairo never happens again.”
Lawmakers said they learned HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) failed ACHA residents since 2010 by inaction, bureaucratic wrangling, and a failure of leadership. HUD identified issues with ACHA’s governance and attempted to bring the agency into compliance, but those attempts did not lead to a positive impact on the housing developments’ conditions.
“HUD identified issues with ACHA’s governance, including the misuse of funds, conflicts of interest, and a failure to comply with HUD policies and Federal civil rights laws,” Jeremy Kirkland, acting deputy inspector general in HUD’s Office of Inspector General, said. “Despite HUD’s attempts to bring ACHA into compliance, its efforts did not resolve the negative conditions at ACHA. Residents continued to live in deplorable conditions as ACHA languished, and ACHA officials were uncooperative in addressing the conditions HUD identified.”