Chicago mail problems investigated

CHICAGO, June 1 (UPI) -- Disgruntled customers, union leaders and politicians are giving the U.S. Congress an earful about the problems plaguing mail delivery in the city of Chicago.

Postal officials said one of the reasons things are in such a mess is that records used to deliver the mail contain more than 84,000 errors, The Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

That may be why Dave Barlow of Albany Park, Ill., is receiving mail for a previous occupant of his home who moved 10 years ago.

Barlow was among a number of people who testified in Chicago Thursday before a House subcommittee exploring why U.S. Postmaster General John Potter called Chicago's mail operation the worst in the nation.

Besides wrong deliveries, witnesses complained about everything from receiving a seasonal newsletter months after it had been mailed to having mail delivered only twice in a three-week period, the Tribune said.

Faulty records, outdated equipment, poor supervision and the "overall work culture," were among the explanations provided to the subcommittee, the newspaper reported.