CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — According to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, reports of mail carrier robberies more than tripled between 2018 and 2021 — and on Sunday, Chicago postal workers said more needs to be done to ensure their safety.
“I am saddened by this,” said Patrick Gibbons, a postal worker and community activist. “I want to do everything in my power for my sisters and brothers that I work with.”
Gibbons said he’s frustrated not only with the attacks against postal workers, but also those across the country. He said they should be safe when they go out to perform what he described as a public service
“It’s getting to a point where safety for our postal workers or postal carriers, in particular, needs to be addressed,” he said. “One postal worker was killed in Milwaukee.”
There's also the case of missing Chicago postal worker Kierra Coles, who was pregnant when she disappeared in 2018 and has not been found. Although she was not at work at the time, Gibbons said the case hits home.
“Ms. Coles needs to be found,” he said. “In fact, starting today … I’m offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to where Ms. Coles is at.”
Gibbons said there needs to be an increase in police hires, license plate readers, neighborhood crime cameras installed, and more.
“What we need is more safety, bottom line,” Gibbons said. “I don’t care how it’s done, we just need more safety because if we don’t have safety in our future, there’s going to be more robberies, more postal workers’ safety will be on the line — and we can’t have that, it’s that simple.”
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