CAA's NARA Chicago Closure Prevention Committee wants to share updates about recent work happening regarding the proposed closures of the NARA Chicago and San Bruno regional branches. We have been meeting weekly to strategize about how to keep our archives in reach and I’m excited to report out some developments, including a lunch time “reference desk” the week of October 12th-16th!
Legislative Action:
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On September 30th, Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) led a letter with 20 members of the U.S. House and Senate to the Archivist of the U.S. Bradford Wilson, expressing strong opposition to the announcement that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) intends to close the regional archive facility and Federal Records Center (FRC) located in the Congressman’s district since the 1970s. PRESS RELEASE
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Also on September 30th, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), introduced the National Archives Protection Act, legislation that would require congressional approval before the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) can close or significantly restrict access to existing regional facilities. PRESS RELEASE
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This compliments the previously introduced National Archives Protection Act introduced in the House by Representatives Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Judy Chu (CA-28), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04). PRESS RELEASE
Local and National Media:
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. On Wednesday, September 30th, NARA posted to its research news site that the first collection in Chicago would close and start moving procedures very soon: “All records of the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) (RG 184) at the National Archives of Chicago will be temporarily closed to prepare for relocation to the National Archives at Boston. We estimate that these records will close on October 13, 2026, and be available to researchers at the National Archives at Boston on January 15, 2027.” These are employment and personnel records of a federal agency that is based in Chicago. Quick and comprehensive access to these records is vital for workers and families to obtain benefits. NARA leadership has promised that these collections moves will not interrupt service, but the collection is projected to be closed for at least three months.
Furthermore, on Monday, October 5th, we were alerted to a contract between NARA and Iron Mountain to perform shelf-to-shelf transfers of materials between NARA facilities. This contract started on September 28, 2026, and is projected to go through September 30, 2029. The current contract is for $8.8 million, but has a projected amount as high as $25 million. We continue to question whether this incurs the financial savings and efficiency that NARA alleges, especially when considering the immaterial cost of loss of local access, and loss of specialized Chicago-area staff.
So what is next, and what can you do?
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We will be protesting and educating at Chicago Federal Plaza the week of October 12. Each Monday through Friday we’ll be there from 11am-1pm, and we encourage you to come by and show your support for keeping these National Archives accessible in Chicago! If you are able, please RSVP here.
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If you can only come one day, make it Friday, October 16th - we hope to have some political support and we will be sharing our demonstration with local media
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During Archives Month this October, we encourage our members to visit the National Archives at Chicago facility to research a topic that interests you! NARA is an incredible asset to our region and its 140,000 cubic feet of records hold many fascinating finds. To visit, you’ll need to register for a research card and make a research appointment ahead of time. If you aren’t sure what to research, we suggest looking at the Chicago holdings highlights, BMRC highlights about Black history, this list of Indigenous records, and NARA’s catalog and finding aids. Of course, you can email and visit NARA anytime, but we want everyone to experience why this closure would be such an immense local loss.
