Why? “We did not want to invade the privacy of individual tenants or create problems for tenants that are out there,” the mayor answers.

That’s not acceptable, said Ward 2 Ald.

Gail Simpson, who has long called for stronger city action against derelict properties in her own ward and says that she is watching how the city deals with MacArthur Park.

“The judge gave you carte blanche, and you only went into seven unoccupied buildings?” Simpson says. “That doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s not about privacy, it’s about living conditions. It’s about making sure those individuals who are living there have a quality of life.”

Inspection redux On Sept. 2, city inspectors went through eleven occupied apartments in seven buildings, giving residents 24 hours’ notice. Unlike Houston, Cullen says that the city hadn’t inspected occupied units in August because the city didn’t have enough inspectors.

This time, inspectors who looked through occupied units found roach infestations, missing or faulty smoke detectors, a lack of fire extinguishers, exposed wiring, missing guardrails on staircases and holes in walls. Inspectors also discovered a natural-gas leak in an unoccupied unit deemed unfit for human habitation.

“Did not enter due to smell being so bad,” inspectors wrote about a unit they placarded as unfit for human habitation, one of nine apartments placarded that day. Seven apartments went uninspected in the buildings visited by inspectors – inspection records indicate that no one was home in those units.

Management didn’t try stopping inspec tors this time.

“If they want to inspect them, we’re going to let them inspect them,” says Gerald Clark, a property manager. “We’ve got nothing to hide.”

Clark, however, would not allow a photographer to take pictures of work underway on buildings placarded by the city, although he said that the owners will obey the city’s demands to fix things.

“We’ve got plumbers and electricians over there,” Clark said. “We’re complying with what the city wants. You look around – this can’t be the worst complex in the city of Springfield.”

Although Carr is Green’s partner in Granite Investments, he says that he’s not responsible for conditions at MacArthur Park.

“I’m a partner in the entity that owns MacArthur Park, I have nothing to do with the operation of the partnership,” says Carr, who blames tenants for damage.

“We’re required to basically let anyone in who wants to go in – people are going in there and tearing up the property,” Carr says. “The problem is, you have to make apartments available to anybody who qualifies under HUD.”

That’s not true, according to Jackie Newman, executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority that administers the Section 8 program for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

If rules are applied evenly to Section 8 voucher holders and everyone else, then landlords can be as picky as they like, Newman says.

“There is no mandate from HUD or the housing authority,” Newman says. “But you can’t discriminate against someone because they’re a voucher holder.”

Sexton, not Uncle Sam, pays the rent on her apartment. But she is patient. “As long as they’re fixing up the apartments around here, I don’t even care if they get to mine,” she says.

Reach Bruce Rushton at [email protected].