The Southsiders for Peace rallied Saturday at the intersection of 103rd Street and Western Avenue, where demonstrators took over all four corners to support the U.S. Postal Service in light of an expected increase in mail-in voting this fall.
“It’s essential that people know this is a manufactured crisis,” said Bill Beaulieu, a 68-year-old Oak Lawn resident who organized the rally. “What we’re trying to let people know is how vital the service is. Mail-in voting is part of democracy.”
Marie Newman of La Grange, who became the Democratic nominee in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District after defeating longtime incumbent Rep. Daniel Lipinski in the March primary, joined demonstrators and pledged her support.
She said the Postal Service preceded the official founding of the United States, and noted the House of Representatives voted to approve emergency funding to help the post office handle an increase in mail-in ballots. She said the post office should not be a partisan issue.
Newman encouraged demonstrators to continue their work.
“Protect the post office like it’s your home, because it is,” Newman told the crowd. “Protect postal workers like they’re your loved ones, because they are.”
Beaulieu said he has a hard time not pointing a finger at Republicans who he said forced the post office more than a decade ago to prefund health and retirement benefits for more than half a century, which he said marked a turning point.
“That’s responsible for 98% of the deficits the post office has run since 2007,” Beaulieu said. “It’s reality. People want to call it partisan? OK. If that’s who is doing it, how can it not be partisan?”
Beaulieu, a postal retiree who started as a letter carrier and later became a union steward, said organizers put together the demonstration in direct response to repeated attacks from President Donald Trump regarding the post office’s financial struggles and what he called the president’s attempts to subvert mail-in voting.
John Rudd, a Chicago resident who has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 35 years, handed out literature.
“I really appreciate people coming out here,” Rudd said. “We need to keep the pressure up.”
Rudd said the post office has been saddled with operational and financial issues for a while, but things took a drastic turn recently.
“Now, it’s getting worse,” he said. “They’re doing it for openly political reasons.”
Lisa Walsh, of Beverly, and her husband, Matt, said they felt compelled to come out after what has transpired on the national stage.
“We love our post office,” Lisa Walsh said. “We feel they are definitely under attack. This also plays into people’s voting rights.”
Regina Washington, of Chicago, said she is an activist who has been trying to encourage people to vote. She said people need to speak out against anything that could impede their votes.
“This is unheard of. If that’s shut down, what do we have?” Washington asked.
Margaret Hagerman, of Flossmoor, found herself on the northwest corner of 103rd and Western for similar reasons. She said that in addition to voting, people rely on mail for medications.
“We’ve had a post office for 244 years now,” Hagerman said. “It’s never been under threat the way it has been now. This is an attempt at voter suppression, and it will not be tolerated.”
Southsiders for Peace plan another protest at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Moraine Valley post office, 7401 W. 100th Place, Bridgeview.
Beaulieu said the Southsiders for Peace have been organizing events since 2004. The intersection of 103rd and Western has been a primary demonstration spot because many of the group’s members hail from the Beverly area.
Bill Jones in a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
