Elmhurst Mail Problems? Post Office Says No

ELMHURST, IL – A number of Elmhurst residents have told Patch they are going days at a time without mail service.

But the U.S. Postal Service is denying local issues with delivery.

"There have not been any reported recent delays with mail service going days at a time in Elmhurst," Tim Norman, a Chicago-based post office spokesman, said Tuesday in an email to Patch.

He then proceeded with the post office's standard statement about how the post office addresses customers' concerns.

Over the last year, Patch has written stories about mail delivery problems in Elmhurst. Last spring, the post office responded to Patch by issuing general statements blaming the pandemic.

Later in the year, the post office acknowledged specific problems in Elmhurst.

This is the first time the agency has denied any problems with local service.

Late last week, a resident near East End Park said in Patch's comments section that she had only received mail once since the previous Saturday.

"I called the post office," she said. "No one answers their phones."

Another woman was among those acknowledging the same issue.

"Don't bother calling. They don't answer their phones. Going there does nothing either," she said. "Elmhurst must have the worst mail service."

Yet another resident said she has filed a complaint to at least document the delivery problems.

"Can we just stop pretending we get daily mail and just have mail delivery three days a week?" she asked.

Last summer, the problems apparently got so bad that Mayor Scott Levin said the city contacted the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Chicago, for answers.

One of the main reasons for the problem is the lack of employees, Levin said at the time. Since May 2021, only two-thirds of postal employees have been showing up for work, the city said. This is because of a federal employee leave law during the pandemic. It gives federal employees up to 15 weeks of paid leave for a variety of pandemic-related reasons.

"In a sense, what they're saying is that under these collective bargaining agreements and these (laws), people are taking time off and they don't have anyone in there who is able to fill the gap," Levin said last summer. "Congressman Quigley's office assured us that they're continuing to monitor this. We are making our concerns as a city known. The mail is not being delivered. All of us have experienced delays."

Patch's last story about local mail delivery problems was in early January.