We received this urgent message this week. Genealogy members and readers please take action.
 |
"American Flag" by JeepersMedia is
licensed under CC BY 2.0. Altered: cropped |
Stop the Closure of the Chicago National Archives!!The
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has announced plans
to close its Chicago facility and the Chicago Federal Records Center at
7358 S. Pulaski Road, alongside offices in San Bruno, CA, and Seattle,
WA.
NARA claims this closure is a cost-cutting
measure to reduce operating expenses and its real estate portfolio.
However, they have provided no archival rationale, no plan for how
public access will be maintained, and no consideration for the heavy
toll this move takes on the public and NARA staff.
We
need to act now. Demand that NARA and our elected officials halt this
closure, reject the disinvestment of our cultural institutions, and
protect public access to our history—especially as we approach the
United States’ 250th anniversary.
Why This Matters
- Irreplaceable Public Records:
The Chicago facility houses more than 140,000 cubic feet of
historically significant federal records spanning six Great Lakes
states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
These include Bureau of Indian Affairs records, Chinese Exclusion Act
case files, Great Lakes maritime records, naturalization files, and the
Trial of the Chicago 7 transcripts.
- Deep Connections to Local History:
These archives directly complement regional repositories. For example,
the facility holds dozens of federal court cases related to the Pullman
Strike of 1894 (connecting to the Illinois Labor History Archives and
Pullman National Historical Site); Bureau of Indian Affairs records
detailing relationships with Indigenous communities (supplementing the
Newberry Library and American Indian Center); and maritime records
tracking ship movements and major events, including the 1919 murder of
Eugene Williams in Lake Michigan that sparked the Chicago Race Riot.
- Most Records Are Not Online:
Only a tiny fraction of these archives are digitized. NARA’s online
portal is notoriously unreliable. If this facility closes, records will
be packed onto pallets and shipped out of the region, forcing future
researchers to travel cross-country or forgo these vital sources
altogether.
- Loss of Vital, Lifeline Services:
Everyday citizens rely on this facility to access naturalization papers
to prove citizenship status, locate federal court records, research
family genealogy, track military service history, and trace ancestors
who attended government Indigenous boarding schools.
- Erasure of Expertise and Job Losses:
The closure eliminates the livelihoods of 17 dedicated local staff
members, including 11 union workers represented by AFGE Council 260.
These professionals have spent careers developing deep institutional
knowledge of regional history and uncatalogued collections. This
expertise cannot be packed into a box and shipped away; once these
professionals are displaced, that knowledge is lost forever.
Take Action Now
1. Contact Your Congressional Representatives
Call
or write to your U.S. Senators and Representatives. Demand that they
intervene to halt the closure and push for robust federal funding to
keep regional archives open and fully staffed.
2. Message NARA Leadership
Tell
NARA leadership that closing regional facilities directly undermines
their mission to "promote public inquiry and strengthen democratic
participation." Demand transparency regarding where these records are
going and how they plan to maintain public access.
Physical Mailing Address: National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road College Park, MD 20740-6001
3. Contact Congressional Oversight & Appropriations Committees
Because
facility closures are driven by federal budget decisions and real
estate assessments, reach out to the committees that control NARA’s
policy and funding. Framed your letters around how closing this facility
compromises government transparency, accountability, and local access. (Note:
If you are a constituent of any of these Chairs or Ranking Members,
highlight this clearly, and always copy your local representatives on
the correspondence).
Operations & Policy Oversight
These committees monitor NARA’s management decisions and compliance with federal records laws.
- Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC)
- Chair: Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
- Ranking Member: Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)
- House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
- Chair: Representative James Comer (R-KY)
- Ranking Member: Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA)
Budget & Funding Oversight (Appropriations)
These
subcommittees control NARA’s discretionary budget. Demand they allocate
dedicated federal funding to keep regional branches open.
- Senate Committee on Appropriations (Subcommittee on FSGG)
- Full Committee Chair: Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
- FSGG Subcommittee Chair: Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
- FSGG Subcommittee Ranking Member: Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)
- House Committee on Appropriations (Subcommittee on FSGG)
- Full Committee Chair: Representative Tom Cole (R-OK)
- FSGG Subcommittee Chair: Representative Dave Joyce (R-OH)
- FSGG Subcommittee Ranking Member: Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Spread the Word
Share
this alert with historians, genealogists, students, labor advocates,
and community members. Our history belongs to the public, not in a
locked warehouse across the country.
Please share any correspondence you receive to advocacy@chicagogenealogy.org . Also, free to ask for any help to compose correspondence.
Don’t let them bury our history. Fight the closure today!
This was originally posted by Barbara J. Mathews, CG® Emeritus, FASG who obtained it from the Chicago Genealogical Society.
See you at our favorite library!
LE
