I believe section 8's pop up where demand for housing in an area is low. Its pretty simple. Is there too much of it in Granite? That's too subjective and silly of a question to even answer. Now, if you wanted to ask 'Does Granite have a disproportinately high rate of section 8 compared to other communities' I would be willing to answer that question.
You can get mad at the mayor all you want or blame the new coke plant all you want. The simple fact is that Granite City is not a destination for educated, middle class families to move to and it hasnt been for at least 20 years. This time frame is well before the current mayor took office or the new Coke plant was built.