Reports of Mail Distribution Problems

Efforts to make the US Postal Service more efficient are getting mixed reviews.

A staff member from an area post office, one outside Effingham, has reported recurring problems with getting the mail delivered on a timely basis, or sometimes in even getting the mail.

The employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said their office should've recieved 900 letters Wednesday and didn't receive any.  The letters had still not arrived this morning.

The employee also reported that three bags of priority mail, destined for Teutopolis, instead showed up at their office and they had to coordinate with a Teutopolis employee to meet up to make sure they received priority to get it delivered on time.

Uneven flow of the mail was also noted by the worker, who said, "One day, you won't get any mail, another day you'll get a ton."

The problems with getting the mail to local post offices began, the employee said, with the shutdown of the Effingham and Centralia processing centers, meaning the mail goes instead for processing to Champaign and St. Louis.  Cutbacks in operating hours at local post offices making things worse since the local offices have less time to make up for the delays in receiving the mail.

We contacted Congressman John Shimkus' office about the matter.  Press Secretary Steve Tomaszewski said they've had complaints from newspapers about slow processing or other problems, but hadn't heard any complaints regarding first class mail.  Tomaszewski said if they get complaints from citizens, that gives them ammunition when they address the issue with Postal Service officials.

Shimkus has an office in Effingham in the County Office Building downtown on the third floor for those who'd like to report problems they've experienced.  The Effingham office number is 217-347-7947.