Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Halt National Archives Facility Closures in Chicago and San Francisco
Lawmakers from Illinois and California have introduced legislation to prevent the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) from closing its facilities in Chicago and San Francisco/San Bruno. NARA had previously announced plans to close the Chicago facility on the Southwest Side and the San Francisco/San Bruno facility, as well as move temporary records from the Seattle Records Center. The agency informed its employees in June that these closures and relocations would occur over the next few years. Many of the records housed in the Chicago facility, which include federal court cases, maritime records for the Great Lakes region, and Bureau of Indian Affairs documents, have not been digitized and are only accessible in person. U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, whose district includes the Chicago NARA building, sent a letter to Bradford P. Wilson, archivist of the United States, urging a reversal of the decision and requesting NARA's rationale. The letter, signed by twenty members of the U.S. House and...
