Aurora alderman calls for removal of housing authority members

Calling the organization "Aurora's largest slumlord," Fourth Ward Alderman Rick Lawrence has called for the dismantling of the Aurora Housing Authority.

Lawrence made his request Tuesday before aldermen voted 10-1 to reappoint William Burns, husband of Seventh Ward Alderman Scheketa Hart-Burns, to the authority's seven-member board.

"Nothing personal, Bill, but I think, especially at this time when we're looking at cracking down on landlords and the condition of our rental units in the city, I believe the entire board of the Aurora Housing Authority needs to be replaced," Lawrence said. "I'm not saying it's any one individual, but it's obviously not working. There is nobody that can look at that and say that organization is working properly. It is a huge problem in this city."

Lawrence, one of three mayoral candidates, said he would like to see the board lower its number of low-income housing units from 652 and put that money into "quality services" aimed at easing families out of the cycle of poverty.

"Right now, they're a warehouse full of low-income renters and they're doing nothing to help those people succeed and exit the system," he said. "The conditions some of these folks live in are appalling."

Authority board member Gerald Jones said he has dedicated the past 12 years to improving Aurora's housing, but said it has been difficult with cuts in federal HUD funding. He called Lawrence's comments "offensive" and "counterproductive."

"Rentals are not a blight to this community and they never have been, especially with our scattered-site houses," Jones said. "You wouldn't be able to pick our home out of any neighborhood we have them in because we don't want them to stand out."

Authority director Jean Federman said the organization's goal is to be a "temporary solution to help people get on their feet."

"We only promise to provide safe and sanitary housing," Federman said Wednesday. "We attempt to get our tenants involved in local social services but the constant turnover rate we face, and our funding levels makes that difficult."

Federman said the organization supports the upkeep of all 652 units and 800 Section 8 vouchers with $4.4 million in annual federal funding.

Lawrence said he does not believe the authority members have any concern for the "negative impact they have on our school district, police department and community and as a whole."

"They don't understand their role and as far as I'm concerned, they're there to pick up a $75 check twice a month," he said. "Maybe they got involved to help but they quickly got in over their heads and haven't bothered to get out."

Federman defended her board members, saying dismantling the group would do more harm to the community than good.

"This is an excellent board. Every single one of them is very involved in the community and the housing authority," she said. "They're all Aurora residents and are very involved in the city they live in."

Jones said they're also good at stretching a dollar.

"We're making policy based on only receiving 81 percent of our funding and that has always been a concern," he said. "I don't know any other entity that could operate as well as we do with a 19 percent cut in funding."

Alderman-at-Large Richard Irvin grew up in the authority's housing and has seen some of the issues firsthand. Irvin said Wednesday that he hopes the council and housing board can come together soon to address the "real issues" like general policy, the application process, and how the organization can help better Aurora residents.

He said he would volunteer to lead that discussion.

"I agree with (Lawrence) and share many of his concerns about the housing authority," Irvin said. "But that is a discussion we all need to have for a decision that we all need to make. That decision cannot be made by one person."