Full Text of HR0685 97th General Assembly
HR0685 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service (USPS) has | 3 | | announced plans to study the potential closure or conversion of | 4 | | post offices in the City of Springfield, including the Colonel | 5 | | John H. Wilson, Jr. (Springfield Main) post office located at | 6 | | 2105 East Cook Street in Springfield; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Springfield is the capital of the State of | 8 | | Illinois and the home of Abraham Lincoln, a former postmaster | 9 | | of New Salem from 1833 to 1836, and later the 16th President of | 10 | | the United States; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr. was a Springfield | 12 | | native who fought for the United States during World War I, | 13 | | earning the Silver Star for his gallantry; he worked for the | 14 | | USPS for 57 years and was the first black person to obtain the | 15 | | rank of Colonel in the United States Army Reserves; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The post offices in Springfield under | 17 | | consideration for closure serve a population of approximately | 18 | | 150,000 residents; the main post office in Springfield is | 19 | | located is in an area which consists of more than 75% minority | 20 | | population and where the median annual household income is less | 21 | | than $16,000; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The USPS was established under the provisions of | 2 | | the United States Constitution, and is charged under the | 3 | | principles of universal service obligation to provide a range | 4 | | of products, access to services and facilities, delivery | 5 | | frequency, affordable and uniform pricing, service quality, | 6 | | and security of the mail; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Many residents of the affected neighborhoods do | 8 | | not have easy access to transportation and must rely upon | 9 | | postal service centers within walking distance or within close | 10 | | proximity to homes and businesses; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, It is anticipated that if the Springfield | 12 | | Processing and Distribution Center is closed, the mail | 13 | | processing will be transferred to and consolidated with the St. | 14 | | Louis Processing and Distribution Center (St. Louis P&DC); and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In the Audit Report of Postal Service Performance | 16 | | During the 2010 Fall Mailing Season, issued September 7, 2011, | 17 | | the St. Louis P & DC had the second highest percentage of | 18 | | delayed mail as a percent of first-handled pieces, which was | 19 | | caused from not adjusting mail flow, sort plans, and staffing | 20 | | timely to meet operational requirements and from not accurately | 21 | | identifying and reporting delayed mail; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The Audit Report noted that the service scores for |
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| 1 | | the St. Louis P & DC generally lagged behind the national | 2 | | service scores; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, The tourism industry, which is a substantial | 4 | | portion of the local economy, also contributes substantial | 5 | | demand for postal services, including the first day issuances | 6 | | of a number of commemorative items celebrating the home town of | 7 | | Abraham Lincoln; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, The closure of the Springfield Post Office will | 9 | | have a dramatic negative impact on mail service throughout | 10 | | central Illinois, including the occurrence of substantial | 11 | | delays for mail service by using the St. Louis P & DC instead | 12 | | of the Springfield Post Office, the inability to obtain metered | 13 | | mail from the home town of Abraham Lincoln, and the additional | 14 | | expense incurred for local mail to be sent for processing to | 15 | | and from the St. Louis P & DC; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Closure of post offices in the City of Springfield | 17 | | will likely result in a loss of jobs in the inner-city at a | 18 | | time of economic recession that disproportionately affects the | 19 | | lives and livelihoods of inner-city residents; therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 21 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 22 | | we urge the Postmaster General and the U.S. Postal Regulatory |
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| 1 | | Commission to maintain full postal services in the City of | 2 | | Springfield that provide all residents with uniform access to | 3 | | affordable, secure and dependable mail delivery, postal boxes, | 4 | | and related services; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That we further urge the USPS to provide | 6 | | meaningful opportunities for public input in the process of | 7 | | studying potential closure or conversion of post offices in the | 8 | | City of Springfield, including the timely scheduling of public | 9 | | meetings accessible to all residents; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That any residents, business owners, and all | 11 | | others interested in maintaining and promoting access to | 12 | | affordable, dependable, and secure postal services in the City | 13 | | of Springfield are urged to express their concerns to the USPS | 14 | | by contacting the Postmaster General, the U.S. Postal | 15 | | Regulatory Commission, and the Springfield Postmaster and to | 16 | | attend and participate in public meetings on these matters; and | 17 | | be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 19 | | delivered to the members of the Illinois congressional | 20 | | delegation, the United States Postmaster General, the United | 21 | | States Postal Regulatory Commission, and the Springfield | 22 | | Postmaster.
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