Dispatches from Chicago's south side.
[VIDEO] Ms. Coles is a Chicago area postal worker who went missing in 2018. She was last seen outside of her home at 81st & Vernon and authorities are offering a reward for information on her whereabouts.
In this story from WGN her family is in Pilsen celebrating her 29th birthday on Sept. 24. Sad that she's not around to celebrate her birthday and also bear in mind Coles was also three months pregnant. The family hopes that Coles will be around for her 30th birthday.
[VIDEO] According to the Tribune the mail carrier was not the intended target and it seems to be a drive by shooting. The US Postal Service is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leaders to the alleged shooter. She was just walking her route at 11:30 AM on Thursday when she was seriously wounded.
This was also added in case you may have some information with regards to this incident:
Police are also looking for help from the community and have asked anyone with tips to call Area 2 detectives, 312-747-8271. People also may call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service tip line at 1-877-876-2455 (say “Law Enforcement”) and reference Case No. 3157692.
It’s only July, but Chicago vote by mail applications already break record https://t.co/l4y9Muk8zS— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) July 14, 2020
I saw this signs recently at our local post office at 7715 S Cottage Grove Ave
The US Postal Services has served notice to the customers of the Englewood Post Office of a proposal to discontinue the retail services at the Englewood and Ogden Park post office. The Postal Service proposed action will not serve the best interest of our postal customers. We protest the loss of our postmaster and community identity. Our position is to fight to keep these services in our neighborhood as it impacts many of our seniors and residents who regularly use these services.
Beginning June 6, the downtown Chicago location at 433 W. Harrison St. will be open only from 7:30 a.m. to midnight seven days a week, said Mark Reynolds, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman.
But if you want to mail packages at 2 or 3 a.m., you'll still be able to use an automated, self-service center at the Harrison Street location.
Chicago had been the last city in the United States with a 24-hour window staffed by postal workers. New York City closed its last round-the-clock post office earlier this month.
In a bid to counter the growing number of fake-check scams, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago is branching out to a new medium: public-access television.
Inspectors plan to air a new show at least each month offering advice to consumers. "Don't Fall For It" will be hosted by Tom Brady, the inspector-in-charge for Chicago.
The agency launched its new effort this month on CAN-TV, focusing the first show on what investigators say is the leading scam in Chicago. The scams involve con artists sending out counterfeit checks, trying to persuade victims to wire back part of the money before realizing the checks have bounced.
Postal inspectors are producing the show inexpensively at their Chicago headquarters in a studio they typically use to make in-house training videos. They hope to reach a new audience as they try to educate the public.
"Whatever we can do to put the scammers out of business is what I want to do," Brady said.
The postal service Web site supports a link to http://www.fakechecks.org , which has scam-prevention tips
The first cable effort includes an interview by David Colen, assistant inspector-in-charge, of a postal inspector who just returned from Nigeria and will address moves to head off the problem overseas.
The show next airs 8:30 p.m. Sunday on CAN-TV.
Postal carriers on Wednesday are dealing with the busiest mail delivery day of the year, and some will be accompanied by Chicago aldermen on their routes.According to this article 7 aldermen plan to either walk a mail route or have a look at how the mail system works.
As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, on Wednesday morning Ald. Ed Smith (28th) will leave from the post office at 4222 W. Madison St. in the West Garfield Park neighborhood with a mail carrier. The goal is to get an up close, personal look at the mail service in the ward on the busiest delivery day of the holiday mailing season.
City post offices have extended their hours and hired more than 1,300 seasonal workers to make sure packages and letters get between points in a timely manner. Smith and other aldermen will get to see what it takes.
The scrutiny follows negative news from earlier this year, which found that Chicago's overnight mail delivery ranked the worst in the entire country.
That prompted hearings to find out why, and people were critical
"What mail am I not getting?" postal customer David Barlow said on May 31. "Who's getting my mail, and what are they doing with it? Are they throwing it in the can or are they putting it back in the mailbox hoping that it might get to the right owner?"
Barlow was among those who testified at a congressional hearing in May, along with other unhappy customers, mail carriers and elected officials.
