Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Darin LaHood (IL-16) and Eric Sorensen (IL-17) wrote a letter to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expressing concerns about the USPS' Mail Processing Facility Review (MPFR) of the Peoria Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) facility ahead of the public input session on February 21.
In the letter, LaHood and Sorensen write:
"As you know, the Peoria P&DC facility employs over 120 people. The potential decision to move good-paying, high-quality jobs from downstate Illinois to the South Suburban P&DC in Bedford Park, Illinois, will harm working families in our region and likely have a negative impact on the downstate economy in Illinois.
"While we are pleased to hear that USPS is planning to invest in new equipment and upgrades to the Peoria facility, any proposal that would jeopardize timely mail delivery, diminish customer service, or risk local jobs is unacceptable. Our constituents rely on the services provided by USPS, and our local postal service centers are important cornerstones of our community.
"In order for us to better understand the potential impact on our constituents, we ask you to answer the following questions with a response by March 29, 2024:
- How many jobs and families in the Peoria area are expected to be impacted by these potential changes?
- What guarantees can you provide that moving operations to the South Suburban P&DC will improve efficiency and achieve quicker mail delivery?
- For employees unable or unwilling to move from Peoria to Bedford Park, which is 150 miles away, what efforts are USPS taking to provide retraining programs or alternative opportunities within the postal service?"
The full letter can be read here
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