 The Postal Service says it
needs to close more than 200 processing centers and eliminate 28,000
jobs, mostly through attrition and retirement, because it has
experienced a 25 percent drop in the amount of first-class mail
since 2006. No date is set for the consolidations.In Illinois,
the Postal Service said it plans to move mail processing operations
from Bloomington to Peoria and Champaign; from Carbondale and
Centralia to Evansville, Ind.; from Effingham to Champaign; from
Quincy to Columbia; and from Springfield to St. Louis.
In addition, the remaining mail operations will be moved from Fox
Valley to Bedford Park, and originating mail processing operations
will leave Cardiss Collins in Chicago for Bedford Park and Carol
Stream. A center in Rockford will continue to be studied to examine
the possibility of moving its operations.
"The decision to consolidate mail processing facilities
recognizes the urgent need to reduce the size of the national mail
processing network to eliminate costly underutilized
infrastructure," Postal Service Chief Operating Officer Megan
Brennan said in a news release. "Consolidating operations is
necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail
service to the nation."
But Sen. Dick Durbin said Thursday that discussions continue
about ways to cut costs without closing processing centers.
"I think, if we can come up with a way to save money, keep the
post office solvent and still maintain what I consider to be one of
the best services in the world, we need to do it and do it quickly,"
he told The (Springfield) State Journal-Register Thursday during an
appearance in Springfield.
Durbin added later in a statement that he believes the U.S.
Senate is close to creating its own alternative plan to save money,
but he offered no details.
[to top of second column] |
The Postal Service has said it plans to close 252 processing centers
around the country to cut about $3 billion from its budget. Closing
all of them, officials have said, could take several years, though
some workers in Springfield were told their location could close by
this summer.
Most of the employees would keep jobs in new locations due to
union protections, but jobs cuts would come through attrition as
people leave for other jobs and through retirements.
Local officials in Illinois and elsewhere have complained about
the likelihood that service would slow in some locations.
[Associated
Press]
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