(WBBM NEWSRADIO) —Congressman Bobby Rush and other elected officials on the South Side and in the south suburbs are calling for a change at the top of the Chicago Post Office.
Rush cited an Inspector General's report that examined operations at four South Side post offices last year. It found that 62,000 pieces of mail were either delayed or not delivered at all.
Elected officials say the slowdown in service is impacting the delivery of bills, invoices, and medications.
Rush on Thursday said Chicago Postmaster Wanda Prater should resign. He said he does not make that suggestion lightly, given that Prater is an African-American woman.
Alsip Mayor John Ryan said the delays are unacceptable.
"Bills are being paid late. Senior citizens rely on medications. You name it, the whole thing is a failure right now," Ryan said.
Ald. Pat Dowell of the 3rd Ward said her mail service has been severely disrupted.
"I myself have not had mail delivered in almost a week. When I do get mail delivery I have stacks of mail in a very small postal box, which shows me they have not been delivering,” Dowell said.
In the IG's report, the postal service blamed the service disruptions on the COVID-19 pandemic. It says a number of postal workers called in sick.
The report also says some didn't show up out of fear for their safety during violent protests last summer.
Related
