Mail carriers are being attacked, robbed and killed. These proposed laws could save lives

Long gone are the days when rain, snow, sleet or hail was the only concern of your letter carriers as they navigated their routes to deliver your mail. Now, there is rarely a day that goes by we don’t hear a story of a letter carrier somewhere getting assaulted or robbed at gunpoint while simply doing their job.

Friday, on the city’s Far South Side, letter carrier Octavia Redmond, 48, was fatally shot by an unknown assailant while delivering mail.

Over the past two years, more than 140 letter carriers in Chicago alone have been victims of crimes, and those responsible are rarely apprehended or held accountable. Meanwhile, the United States Postal Service has done little to protect our letter carriers.