Chicago Post Office Ready for Holiday Mailing

Today’s Holidays Need Today’s Mail

CHICAGO — Holiday operations are already well underway throughout the Chicago District. Various plans and programs are in place to help customers manage their holiday mailing needs.

Mail Volume
The district expects to cancel more than 24 million letters at the downtown processing plant during the holiday mailing season. Monday, December 17 is forecast to be the busiest mailing day, with an anticipated cancellation volume of more than 2.2 million pieces, and Wednesday, December 19 is forecast to be the busiest delivery day.

The district has hired more than 1,300 seasonal workers to help handle the extra volume.

Extended Hours
32 Chicago stations and branches are open past 6 p.m. on weeknights and on Saturday afternoons throughout the year. The Cardiss Collins Postal Store, 433 W. Harrison St., is open 24 hours a day.

This weekend, the Fort Dearborn Station, 540 N. Dearborn Street, and the Graceland Finance Station, 3024 N. Ashland Avenue, will have extended hours as listed:
Fort Dearborn: Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Graceland Finance: Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Busy customers can bypass window lines by using Automated Postal Centers at 21 Chicago stations to ship packages and purchase stamps with a credit or debit card.

Visit www.usps.com to buy stamps, order free eco-friendly packaging, ship packages from home by scheduling a Carrier Pickup, create Customized Postage™ of family photos and artwork, design greeting cards and select gift cards from popular merchants and restaurants at NetPost CardStore, and more.

Mail-by Dates
There’s no “deadline” for holiday mailing to most domestic addresses. First-Class cards and packages should arrive by Christmas Day if mailed by Thursday, December 20. After that time, customers may want to consider Priority Mail, and purchase Delivery Confirmation or Signature Confirmation for added security and peace of mind. For the last-minute mailer, Express Mail is delivered overnight 365 days a year within the continental United States, and there is no extra charge for Christmas Day deliveries.

Letters to Santa
Customers can help holiday wishes come true by selecting some of this year’s letters to Santa Claus at the Cardiss Collins Postal Store, 433 W. Harrison St. Letters will be available 24 hours a day through Christmas Eve outside the Postal Store lobby. Individual customers who wish to answer Santa letters must pick them up in person and present a photo ID. Companies and organizations can obtain letters for response, but must maintain a record of letters assigned to specific individuals.

# # #

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.