The sky above the U.S. Post Office on Dearborn Street was speckled with green on Saturday, as the National Association of Letter Carriers paid tribute to slain postal worker Mechellea Williams with a balloon release, expressing visual solidarity for a colleague whose life ended in violence. Mechellea, a mother of three and beloved mail carrier, was gunned down while sitting in her car on Wednesday morning, near 170th and Redbud Lane in Orland Park, a tragic incident that remains unsolved, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
Amidst the grief, the air was heavy with camaraderie, where co-workers and community members converged in memory of the 28-year-old, Williams had marked just eight months with USPS when tragedy struck her down, she was off the clock, shot multiple times at an apartment complex, the community is shaken, her colleagues are in mourning, and now the police are scraping for leads. "She had an effect on everybody that she worked with and they loved her as she loved her coworkers at her job," Elise Foster, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 11 Chicago, said in a statement obtained by NBC Chicago.
As the investigation by Orland Park police continues with no suspects in custody, the ceremony stood as a poignant reminder of the risks faced by postal workers, both on and off the job, a notion underscored by Foster when she highlighted, “I know you all heard about the attacks we’re all dealing with while we're on the clock and now we’re dealing with this violence off the clock, It’s a lot on us to go through this,” according to the same NBC Chicago interview.
The balloon release served more than just as a symbol of remembrance, it was a communal declaration of love, support, and the tight-knit nature of USPS workers, who like a family touched by tragedy, feel deeply the loss of one of their own. "We’re a close-knit family and when somebody loses a family member, we feel the effect here at the workplace,” Foster detailed to NBC Chicago.
