DuPage Housing Authority boss resigns under pressure

With the county's top elected official calling for his firing, longtime DuPage Housing Authority president John Day has resigned.

Day stepped down Wednesday morning before the housing authority's board meeting. Members of the panel contacted later would only say they accepted Day's resignation and that it was effective immediately.

Also, Robert Hess, vice president of the housing authority, retired.

When asked why Day stepped down after 16 years with the agency, Mary Dickson, the housing authority's attorney, said: “It's a personnel issue, so we're not going to comment on that.”

Day's departure came one day after DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin sent an e-mail to DHA board members insisting that Day be terminated due to the results of two recent audits by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The audit reports, issued in September 2009 and June 2010, found that the DHA inappropriately administered its Section 8 project-based voucher program and mismanaged funds.

Cronin, who found out about the audits two weeks ago when he received a letter from HUD officials, said in the e-mail he was “dismayed” and “angered” to learn the DHA misused funds.

“The DHA must meet the federal mandates for affordable housing in DuPage County while respecting the tax dollars they are entrusted to spend,” Cronin wrote. “DuPage County taxpayers expect accountable and responsible government at every level.”

On Wednesday, Cronin said he wanted to take “swift action” to have Day fired. He said the change in leadership was needed to restore the integrity and fiscal accountability of the agency.

“This is the taxpayers' money,” Cronin said. “There are rules. There are appropriate procedures. I expect that we carry those out to the letter of the law. When somebody steps across the line, we will not tolerate it.”

Attempts to contact Day were unsuccessful. Dickson said DHA officials aren't going to comment about Cronin's e-mail. She also declined to comment on the audit reports.

The DHA voucher program that HUD audited assists eligible low- and moderate-income households with rent subsidies.

In the June 2010 audit, it was found that the DHA paid more than $3.4 million in housing assistance through its voucher program without documentation of the recipients' eligibility. More than $33,000 in housing assistant payments also were deemed “improper” because they took place beginning eight months before the assistance was scheduled to go into effect, the audit found.

Auditors said the DHA also distributed rental assistance that exceeded maximums set by HUD, resulting in the overpayment of nearly $270,000. The audit says the housing authority is expected to overpay some $90,000 more next year because of the same mistakes.

In addition, the housing authority failed to perform quality control reviews of households selected from waiting lists for assistance, resulting in the payment of more than $188,000 for 14 households that did not meet eligibility requirements.

“We estimate that over the next year, the authority will pay more than $100,000 in housing assistance for households that do not meet project eligibility requirements,” the audit reads.

In a letter responding to the audit, Day said he agreed with some of the findings but the office “believes overall that it is in compliance with most of the requirements of the Project Based Assistance Program.” The letter notes there were no accusations of theft or fraud related to the findings.

“While it may appear that there is some lacking documentation and/or procedures, this does not undermine the desperate need that those individuals and families who have received the subsidy,” Day wrote.

With Day's departure, Cathy Terrill of Elmhurst has been appointed by the DHA board to guide the agency until a permanent replacement can be found. Cronin praised that decision, calling Terrill “smart, honest, capable and trustworthy.”

Housing: Lack of documentation, misappropriation of funds cited in HUD audit