Chicago's postal delivery delivery under fire at hearing

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago's postal delivery service has come under fire as 'œdysfunctional'ť for widespread delays in mail delivery at a recent congressional field hearing.

The city's residents have complained for months that they aren't receiving important mail, including prescriptions or bills on time.

'œFrom the flawed onboarding process, training and retention of new hires, to the erratic and unpredictable operations, the Chicago post office is dysfunctional at best,'ť Mack Julion of the National Association of Letter Carriers said at Friday's hearing.

The problems include former postal carriers not being removed from payroll and package delays that aren't reflected in the system. From April through June of this year, the post office delivered about 82% of mail on time, compared to the national average of 90%, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

In an effort to address issues, Chicago got a new postmaster earlier this year and officials say they're recruited nearly 250 postal workers.

The leadership of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy also came under scrutiny at the hearing.