CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) — After a year of concern from residents and local lawmakers, the United States Postal Service announced that local mail processing operations will stay in Champaign.
A previous plan announced last year would have moved local processing to Chicago, meaning that mail sent from one Champaign address to another would have had to travel north before arriving back in Champaign.
"Our proposed operational strategy will generate substantial savings for the Postal Service. This strategy provides a solution that will ensure our organization can cover the cost of local originating mail processing operations in the Champaign facility,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a statement.
The newly proposed strategy will focus on boosting services at the Champaign facility to handle package mailing and shipping, letters, and flats, as well as express services and accept bulk and permit mail, further improving its delivery services.
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"Moreover, our Delivering for America plan is channeling up to $16.4 million into upgrading the Champaign facility. This investment goes beyond just enhancing the work environment for our employees. It's about equipping the facility with the necessary technology and resources to deliver top-notch service to the local community for the foreseeable future," said DeJoy.
Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski said in a statement, "For months, I’ve sounded the alarm about the potential impact of consolidation plans on mail service in Central and Southern Illinois. While I am relieved to see these plans have been halted, President Trump’s recent announcement to take control of the USPS raises even more concerns. Rural Americans rely on USPS for essential mail services, and any actions by the President that could diminish service or undermine our dedicated mail carriers must be off the table."
In addition to the upgrades, no staffing changes are planned at the facility. USPS said that the additional capacity could even lead to an increased need for staffing.
WAND News has reached out to USPS to learn if a similar plan is being put in place for Springfield processing operations, which were also on the chopping block last year.
The Springfield postal union said, so far, they are safe but are still in the dark about what is happening with their facility.
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