Prairie State Wire

Comptroller Susana Mendoza has raised concerns about the United States Postal Service's (USPS) plans to restructure the network of the Springfield Post Office. In a statement, she emphasized the potential impact on her office's operations, which involves sending out approximately 11,000 checks daily to various state providers and vendors. "Even a one-day delay could cause serious hardship for these providers and businesses," stated Mendoza.

Mendoza addressed her concerns in a letter to the Postmaster, urging a comprehensive impact analysis to ensure that no performance delays occur due to the network processing changes. "I want assurances that check recipients will receive their payments as expected and believe more analysis should be done to prevent any delays," she added. While she supports increased efficiency, Mendoza insists that data must demonstrate improvements in delivery times if Illinois mail is moved out of state.

Additionally, Mendoza called for further examination of how current USPS jobs might be affected in Springfield and other locations planned for consolidation, such as Champaign.

Her letter follows Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski's introduction of H.R. 8040, legislation aimed at preventing consolidation of Processing & Distribution Centers (P&DCs) in areas struggling to meet delivery goals.

Members of the Illinois Congressional delegation have also voiced their concerns. U.S. Senator Durbin, U.S. Senator Duckworth, Congressman Quigley, Congressman Sorensen, and Congresswoman Budzinski signed a letter referencing a study by the USPS Inspector General. The study examined a similar restructuring plan implemented in Virginia and found it led to decreased service performance in Richmond.

Local voices have joined these apprehensions; both the Springfield City Council and area residents have expressed unease regarding the proposed changes.

In light of these developments, Comptroller Mendoza advised eligible parties: "I hope to learn more about the proposal, but in the meantime, I encourage state employees, service providers and other eligible state vendors to sign up to have their payments electronically deposited."