Protesters deliver message against proposal to close dozen Chicago post offices Demonstrators gather at location that serves Lawndale, Little Village

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-post-office-closings-20120103,0,5975358.story chicagotribune.com

Community activism, protest, that is acceptable - it's okay to protest government actions - but don't dare occupy Wall Street, and question the motives of the Wall Streeters the most exalted, the best, the brightest, the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

By Lisa Black, Chicago Tribune reporter January 2, 2012 Every Friday afternoon, Lucy Ortiz stops at the Otis Grant Collins Post Office to mail a money order to her mother in Puerto Rico. It is a familiar routine that she fears could end under a U.S. Postal Service proposal to close the office — one of about 3,700 under review nationwide — in order to cut costs because of declining first-class mail volume and billions of dollars in red ink. "It's the closest (office) we have, and the service is good," Ortiz, 47, said. Ortiz was among about a half-dozen residents who protested the potential closing Monday during a news conference scheduled by community activists outside the post office, 2302 S. Pulaski Road, which serves the Lawndale and Little Village communities. The office was closed for the federal holiday. The agency last month announced a five-month moratorium on any post office closings, spokesman Mark Reynolds said. The moratorium, ending in May, will give officials more time to work with Congress on alternative business models, Reynolds said. "With the moratorium, everything is on hold," he said. "It's almost impossible to say what might change between now and then. ... We don't know what the final legislation is going to look like and if it will make possible fewer closings." Raul Montes Jr., a community activist who lives in Little Village, urged residents to appeal to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission if the office remains on the closing list. The closest alternative is a station about 11/2 miles away in Cicero, he said. "This is a burden for people that don't have vehicles," Montes said. "Elderly people and residents will struggle to get their mail and checks if this facility and others are closed." According to the U.S. Postal Service, there are 12 Chicago offices among more than 200 statewide that are slated for possible closing. Besides the Otis Collins site, other Chicago locations are listed as Ashburn, Englewood, Finance Station U, Ogden Park, Chinatown Postal Store, Haymarket Postal Store, Mary Alice Henry, Nancy B. Jefferson, Rev. Milton R. Brunson Station and Robert Leflore Jr. If and when any closings occur, the agency has no plans to lay off employees, Reynolds said. Employees "will be absorbed into jobs at another location," he said. lblack@tribune.com