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West Siders Upset About Threat To Close 5 Post Offices

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some West Side elected officials and residents are upset the U.S. Postal Service is thinking about closing five post offices on the West Side as part of a cost-cutting move.

And as WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, they let the Postal Service know about it Monday.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports

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Tom Lenore used one of the post offices that is on the bubble, and he does not want it to close.

"It would be very inconvenient for me, because that would mean I would have to look for another post office close to where I live," he said.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) says there needs to be a postal presence on the West Side, and that people would have to go too far for services if the five post offices closed.

"Why do we have to go to Oak Park for something that we should be getting right here in our community?" Ervin said. "Why do I have to go to Cicero to mail a letter? Why should I have to go to Berwyn? Why do I have to go all the way downtown to mail a letter? That makes no sense – not in this community."

Postal Service spokesman Mark Reynolds says no final decision has been made on the facilities, and a decision probably will not be issued until fall.

But he says mail volume is way down, and, "something definitely has to give."

Altogether, the Postal Service plans to close 3,700 small post offices nationwide, including some rural branches that get business less than two hours per day, even though they're open longer.

On the West Side, from the West Loop to Austin, the following five locations are on the possible closing list:

168 N. Clinton St.;
4222 W. Madison St.,
116 S. Western Ave.,
324 S Laramie Ave.;
and 5001 W. Division St.

Five South Side post office locations, and branches in Riverdale, Hillside, and LaGrange Park could also be closed.

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