Kirk questions payments to Alexander County housing agency

CAIRO, Ill. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is asking the Department of Housing and Urban Development's inspector general to look into the nearly $20 million in federal funds given the Alexander County Housing Authority over a seven-year period.

The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale reports (http://bit.ly/1SFKYh7 ) in a letter sent last week Kirk asked why the housing authority continued to receive funds despite indications the money was being misused by staff.

The Southern Illinoisan reports various HUD documents from 2014, 2015 and early 2016 detailed mounting concerns over mismanagement and neglect of core duties by housing authority staff.

Among issues cited in a September 2014 review, for example, were excess travel for unnecessary training conferences, inappropriate payments to the former executive director after his retirement, and inappropriate payments to employees in early retirement buyouts.

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com