Molly Parker ProPublica

The HUD secretary came to town last year and declared residents were no longer at risk, three decades after the federal government took over public housing here. In fact, the complexes are falling apart and a woman was killed in the weeks before his visit.

As residents in Cairo, Illinois, dealt with mice, toxic mold and lead paint, HUD officials waited to step in, according to a report from the agency’s inspector general. HUD “could and should have done more to oversee it,” a new report says.

Two new reports found that HUD didn’t properly oversee inspections or removal of lead-based paint in public housing complexes across the country.