Ben Carson declared mission accomplished in East St. Louis — where public housing is still a disaster., By Molly Parker, August 8, 2018, The Southern Illinoisan: “The city’s administrative building was decorated for a festive affair when U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson arrived here last September. An Americana themed banner draped the back of a raised stage. Red, white and blue balloons floated in the foreground. ‘This is really an exciting day,’ Carson told a crowd of a few dozen city and community leaders. ‘It is a day of transition and a day of progress.’ In October 1985, HUD officials arrived here unannounced and seized control of the East St. Louis Housing Authority, citing poor living conditions and fraud. Carson was in town to return it to local control…”