Village trustees are asking U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) for his help in getting the U.S. Postal Service to recognize the Miller Woods as part of Steger.
But officials are not optimistic, saying they have tried for eight years to get the Postal Service to recognize the area as part of Steger.
Village President Lou Sherman suggested the 500 homeowners in Miller Woods sign a petition requesting the Postal Service acknowledge them as Steger residents. The petition drive, headed by Bill McCormick, concludes Aug. 13, Sherman said.
Village Trustee Jim Johnson said more than 1,000 Miller Woods residents continue to share Chicago Heights’ ZIP code despite the fact they have been Steger residents for eight years. Also sharing Chicago Heights ZIP code are residents of Ford Heights, Lynwood, Sauk Village and South Chicago Heights. The Chicago Heights ZIP code is 60411. The Steger ZIP code is 60475.
Because Miller Woods is considered a Chicago Heights postal route, the letter carrier– rather than the village–assigns house numbers to the residences, Sherman said. The Chicago Heights’ affiliation doesn’t affect home insurance he said. But Sherman said being part of a ZIP code that is primarily an urban population, may be raising Miller Woods residents’ auto insurance rates higher than neighbors who have a Steger ZIP code.
Trustee Anthony Santori also said the Chicago Heights affiliation can cause complications for residents applying for a library card, voting or dealing with the village. But he said he is most bothered by the psychological barrier it raises to the Miller Woods residents, who “annexed because they wanted to be part of the community.”