Oak Forest Ceases Passport Operations

OAK FOREST, IL — The City of Oak Forest can no longer offer passport services after the Chicago Passport Agency, an affiliate of the United States Department of State deactivated the services Monday.

City Clerk Jack Janozik said that the Chicago Passport Agency notified Oak Forest about a month ago, and that he and Mayor Henry Kuspa appealed on the grounds that the city's post office, which is also an authorized passport agency, was busy.

He said that a manager told him an evaluation was being done of the region to look for redundancy and consolidation.

"They didn't explain the criteria for the evaluation, nor were we informed of any evaluation being performed prior," Janozik said.

He explained that the agency then informed the city that it felt that the post office could absorb the workload, or about 100 applications each year, and officials were "firm on their decision."

Janozik added that agency officials told the city that if need increased, it would be reconsidered for activation.

In the meantime, the nearest passport acceptance facility is the Oak Forest Post Office at 15811 S. Central Avenue. For questions or concerns, contact the Chicago Passport Agency Customer Service at 312-341-8870.