Public funds, property or credit shall be used onlyfor public purposes. Constitution of the State of Illinois, Article VIII. Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) reimbursed a housing authority employee $250.00 for a bridal event thrown for another employee. Payment records obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) show HACD reimbursed then-employee Jennifer…
Tag: housing authority
A sexual harassment complaint against a housing authority employee
***UPDATE 7/6/22*** Housing authority has released the complaints as the PAC requested. They’re the same as the ones I obtained from an alternative source, except the authority has redacted personal information from them. I’ve placed the file in the FB group, here. In January 2022, on a tip, I sent a Freedom of Information Act…
Determination: housing authority must release complaint against its employee
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) has informed the local housing authority that it must release a sexual harassment complaint against one of its employees. Last winter, it came to my attention that a sexual harassment complaint against an employee of the Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) had been sent…
Housing authority sends termination notice over alleged unreported income
This continues the story of Robert S. The Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) wanted Mr. S to sign a repayment agreement, saying Mr. S had failed to report a change in income. Mr. S has not signed the agreement, so HACD has sent him a notice of termination from the Housing Choice…
Serious issues evident in the housing authority’s procedures for debt collection
Robert S. says he received the paperwork below from the Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) last month. It’s a repayment agreement for money HACD is claiming he owes them. Redaction is mine. Mr. S told me he can’t sign the agreement because it’s a lie — that he doesn’t owe HACD the…
DeKalb County’s presiding officer can remove housing authority commissioners
County board members have been hearing from residents for the better part of a year about the Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb’s chronic refusal to follow the rules. The board must be tired of the complaints, because last week during their committee-of-the-whole meeting, they explained there’s not much they can do outside of…
Opinion: housing authority should avoid promoting from within
Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) is losing its executive director, Shelly Perkins. This is an excellent development. It presents the HACD board with a fresh opportunity to address the unprofessional workplace culture there, by hiring an outsider and encouraging additional management departures. Having observed HACD for about nine months and collected hundreds…
Letter urges investigation of the housing authority’s contracts with the mayor’s IT firm
Derek Van Buer’s latest letter to DeKalb County Board regarding Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) urges authorities to investigate evident irregularities with HACD’s service contracts with the DeKalb mayor’s firm, Sundog IT, including allegations that HACD is not following HUD procurement rules nor its own procurement policies in approving and executing contracts…
Series: Housing authority roundup
During the summer of 2021, City of DeKalb did a favor for the Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb (HACD) by approving a plan to make a segment of North Sixth Street one-way to relieve the housing authority’s parking problem. There was no evidence of any parking issue. Meeting minutes and requests for information…
Letter informs DeKalb County of an illegal stipend paid to a housing authority commissioner
Derek Van Buer has been filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the housing authority since last summer, and now is summarizing concerns he’s found for the DeKalb County Board (and where applicable, HUD officials). The first letter to the county, which alleges the housing authority has failed to follow travel reimbursement policies, is…