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Sec. Ben Carson to Visit Cairo Over Housing Crisis

Sec. Ben Carson to Visit Cairo Over Housing Crisis
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By The Associated Press
Aug. 08, 2017 | CAIRO, IL
By The Associated Press Aug. 08, 2017 | 05:46 AM | CAIRO, IL
U.S. Housing Secretary Ben Carson is expected to visit Cairo where two public housing complexes are being torn down, forcing hundreds of residents to find new homes. 

 

Carson told The Southern Illinoisan he wants to visit Cairo to see if anything can be done to ``salvage the situation.'' 

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ordered the buildings demolished earlier this year due to ``deplorable living conditions.'' HUD says the buildings are infested with rodents and bugs and plumbing and heat don't work properly. 

 

About 200 families have been forced to relocate. That's particularly difficult in the town of about 2,600 residents in a rural area and has prompted fears the once-thriving city could be endangered if hundreds of people move elsewhere.



Carson is scheduled to tour the city Tuesday with Mayor Tyrone Coleman, then have private conversations with community leaders. Then he will go to Cairo High School and listen to Elmwood and McBride public housing residents at noon.  
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