Durbin: Congress Wants To Stop Post Office Cutbacks
WASHINGTON (CBS) -- Members of Congress want to keep the U.S. Post Office from the deep cutbacks it's proposing -- and they will have six months to figure out how.
As WBBM Newsradio's Brandis Friedman reports, 250 Post Offices, nine sorting facilities and 1,800 jobs would be lost in Illinois alone under the Postal Service plan to save money.
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"Many of us think these suggestions are extreme, and we want to avoid them," said U.S. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
Durbin says the Postal Service has agreed to delay the plans, and allow Congress to pass legislation to help avoid bankruptcy.
"And so we've got to find a way to provide reliable service; efficient service, when it comes to our Post Office," Durbin said.
He says a few ideas include offering early retirement and addressing health care costs.
Locally, the cuts would close the Irving Park processing center, at 11560 W. Irving Park Rd. near O'Hare International Airport, as well as the Fox Valley and Gary, Ind., processing centers.
Operational changes are also expected to the Main Post Office at 433 W. Harrison St.
Also as a result of the proposed $3 billion in cuts, first-class mail that used to take just one day to deliver will take two to three days. Stamps will also rise in cost by 1 cent to 45 cents, starting next month.
