The troubled public housing authority in East St. Louis is getting additional federal scrutiny this week with the visit of a review team to assess “distressed” housing units and provide training for the local authority’s board of commissioners.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s top Illinois official, William O. Dawson III, notified the local housing authority and city leaders of the visit in a letter earlier this month.

The review team began its work Monday, June 24. It will be here through the week, Dawson said in the letter obtained by the BND.

HUD officials had no comment on the visit.

HUD has been critical of local leaders’ management of public housing during a year of controversy and upheaval for the Housing Authority of East St. Louis. The authority has had at least five major leadership changes since mid-2023. An authority director, an acting director and an interim director, plus a former Board of Commissioners chair and her replacement, have left their posts for various reasons.

This week’s visit comes two months after HUD’s on-site management risk review to determine whether the local authority is complying with the federal agency’s regulations and requirements.

One of federal officials’ most recent concerns has been the East St. Louis city government’s policies and procedures for appointing members of the local housing authority’s Board of Commissioners.

In an April 29 letter to Mayor Charles Powell III and the city council, Dawson said HUD staffers discovered in the review of the local housing authority that city officials had appointed two people to the board who did not live in East St. Louis, a violation of state law. Dawson warned that the city could face a takeover of the local housing authority or other sanctions if it didn’t fix its appointment policies and procedures.

The city council has since appointed two new board members in place of the two people mentioned in Dawson’s letter.

On May 23, the city council appointed Pamela Sargent to fill the unexpired term of Naomi Purchase Gilbert, who had resigned from the board. The term ends April 4, 2027, according to city records.

On June 13, the city council appointed Edmond Brown to “fill the vacancy of Natascha Jefferies,” according to a city legislative bill form. The term ends May 11, 2028, the form states.

In an interview with the BND earlier this month, City Manager Robert Betts said Jefferies had never officially served on the board, having declined the city council’s appointment. “We brought her name forward, but never moved forward with the process,” he told the BND. “No action was ever taken with her.”

He also said he did “not necessarily” agree with HUD’s determination that the council had appointed two people who didn’t live in the city. “People live in multiple places. You can’t dictate where people stay and sleep at,” he said. “That’s all subjective. We don’t sneak around to see where people sleep.”

Besides Sargent and Brown, the local housing authority also has another new member who the city council appointed in the past month.

Dinah Campbell is filling the unexpired term of DeMarko M. Ward Sr., who had resigned from the board. The term ends June 10, 2025, according to city council records.

The HUD team visiting this week is set to provide “formal Board of Commissioners training,” according to Dawson’s most recent letter to city officials. The letter does not elaborate on the nature of the training.

The team also plans to do the following, according to Dawson’s letter:

• “On-site visits to your most distressed Public Housing developments and selected individual units to conduct a comprehensive Physical Conditions Assessment of your portfolio.”

• “Confirmation of completion of all identified Exigent Health and Safety (EHS) Deficiency mitigations.”

• “PIH Information Center (PIC) data cleanup and recommendations for repositioning of development(s), if applicable.”

The letter did not include details about the nature of the “distressed” housing units.