 The U.S. Energy Department's inspector general criticized Illinois'
handling of part of its $242 million, three-year share of the $5
billion home-weatherization portion of the stimulus."Substandard
weatherization work can pose health and safety risks to occupants,"
the audit said. "Payment of excessive materials costs to contractors
reduces the amount of funding available to weatherize homes ... and
reduces the amount of funding for direct job creation."
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
disagreed, saying work the audit reviewed was not completed, that no
contractors were overpaid and that it had made improvements in the
way it assigns and oversees work done.
Some of the problems arose from the federal government's huge
infusion of cash so quickly that staff members and contractors were
hired who were trained but inexperienced, said officials from the
Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County Inc.,
or CEDA.
State officials said they will offer additional training sessions
for those doing weatherization work and continue to make
improvements in their review of work done.
"The department has already taken decisive steps to address
issues identified by DOE auditors during their site visits,"
Commerce and Economic Opportunity spokeswoman Marcelyn Love said.
The audit focused on work done by CEDA, which plans to handle $91
million to weatherize 12,500 homes -- nearly half of the total
planned statewide.
In 15 weatherized homes visited, auditors found that 14 would not
pass safety inspections because of poor work quality. Twelve of the
homes had "substandard work that could have, in some cases, resulted
in significant property damage or injury to the homeowners," the
report said, such as a kitchen exhaust vented to the attic, which
auditors said posed a fire hazard.
In 10 homes, the audit said contractors were overpaid about
$3,300 for materials not installed or work not done, including
$1,000 extra for a larger boiler when a smaller one was actually
installed.
And eight homes were not assessed properly for energy efficiency
in the first place, it said. In one case, attic insulation was
recommended but sizable leaks in the roof overlooked.
The audit knocked follow-up and inspection procedures by the
state and CEDA and criticized overpayments to contractors for
materials it said were significantly cheaper on hardware store
shelves.
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State officials said the 15 homes visited had not yet been
cleared by final inspections, while CEDA claimed in its response to
the audit that the sample was too small. Both said overbillings had
been discovered before anyone was overpaid.
"Absolutely no erroneous payments were made to contractors," CEDA
officials wrote. The audit countered that from October 2008 to
February 2010, it had found 20 instances where contractors had been
paid for work not performed.
State and CEDA officials also contended that materials they used
were of higher quality, and thus cost more, than those the audit
used to compare prices. Auditors said they had seen no documentation
to support that claim.
Love said $90 million of Illinois' share of weatherization money
has been spent, and the rest will be spent by June, nine months
ahead of schedule.
———
Online:
http://www.ig.energy.gov/143.htm
[Associated Press;
By JOHN O'CONNOR]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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