[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6298-S6299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          CAIRO HOUSING CRISIS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I would like to bring attention to 
the southernmost city in my State, Cairo, IL.
  Sitting at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, Cairo 
was once a booming port town and was home to Fort Defiance during the 
Civil War. In the 1960s, Civil Rights icon Representative John Lewis 
even spent a summer there to help integrate a number of businesses and 
public spaces.
  However, in recent years, this southern city has faced a new 
challenge, as uninhabitable living conditions have force hundreds of 
public housing residents to relocate from their homes--and in many 
cases from their beloved community. Public housing in the city suffered 
years of neglect at the hands of local officials who are now accused of 
misusing Federal funds to bankroll lavish personal expenses, including 
multiple trips to Las Vegas and steak dinners.
  And how was life for residents? By the time residents were forced to 
relocate, 185 families--including roughly 200 children--were living in 
housing overrun with rodents, bedbugs, roaches, crime, mold, asbestos, 
and lead. I am talking about rats in the couch, maggots in the freeze, 
and plumbing and heating that simply refused to work.
  It was local officials who failed to provide its residents with safe 
and healthy housing; yet these families were the ones whose lives were 
uprooted as a result. Today, all 185 families have relocated, and the 
vacant housing complexes are set to be demolished. While the strength 
and resilience of these residents and their community in the face of 
this situation is inspiring, there is no question they deserved far 
more from their government.
  It has been more than 2 years since the HUD Inspector General's 
Office began investigating alleged misuse of Federal funds by local 
officials, and it is beyond time for that investigation to be finalized 
and for the results to be made public.
  Today I am calling--once again--for the HUD inspector general to do 
just that, but more remains to be done to restore the faith and 
confidence of public housing residents in our government. Transparent 
accountability must be had at all levels of government where 
mismanagement played a role in creating this crisis.
  This is why, in May of last year, Senator Duckworth and I called for 
the HUD inspector general to also look into HUD's oversight of 
Alexander County Housing Authority. This July, the IG released its 
report that found that despite having early knowledge of bad conditions 
at Alexander County, HUD hesitated to intervene, while residents 
suffered.
  This is unacceptable, and it cannot be repeated. HUD is responsible 
for ensuring public housing authorities meet their responsibility to 
provide safe and affordable housing, and it must be capable of 
performing this vital oversight. Senator Duckworth and I have urged HUD 
to quickly implement the recommendations included in the report to more 
effectively oversee public housing authorities, to which HUD has 
agreed.

[[Page S6299]]

  I look forward to continuing to work with HUD to improve its 
oversight of public housing authorities. We cannot allow the local and 
Federal mismanagement that jeopardized living conditions in Cairo to be 
repeated in any other community.

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