At least six area post offices are being evaluated for possible closure as a result of cost-cutting by the U.S. Postal Service.

Post offices in Henning, East Lynn, Milmine, Thawville, Ellsworth and Redmon could be discontinued if the Postal Service decides it can otherwise provide "regular and effective" service to those areas.

Three of those are in the Postal Service's Gateway District based in St. Louis. The other three are in the Central Illinois District based in the Chicago suburb of Bedford Park.

Of those in the Gateway District, Milmine's fate could be the first to be decided. A determination is expected to be made by July 19, said Valerie Welsch, a Postal Service spokeswoman in St. Louis.

The unincorporated Piatt County community has had a post office since June 17, 1862. Milmine has 24 post office box customers and 20 rural route customers, Welsch said. But the community — probably best known for its grain elevator — hasn't had a postmaster since 2009, relying instead on an "officer-in-charge."

Redmon, a village in western Edgar County, is due to find out its post office's fate by Aug. 10. The community has 100 post office box customers, and the position of postmaster has been vacant since 2010. The village's population was 173 in 2010, down from 199 in 2000.

A decision on Henning's post office is due by Sept. 15. It has 104 post office box customers and has been operating since Feb. 19, 1878. But it hasn't had a postmaster since 2010. The village in north central Vermilion County had 251 residents in 2010, up from 241 in 2000.

"No decision has been made at this time on any of the three offices," Welsch said.

The same is true for the post offices in East Lynn, Thawville and Ellsworth, according to Jose Aguilar, a spokesman for the Central Illinois District.

East Lynn, an unincorporated community in northern Vermilion County, has 60 post office boxes being used. The Postal Service has replied to concerns expressed at an April 12 public meeting but hasn't decided yet whether to close the office, Aguilar said.

Thawville, in western Iroquois County, has 101 post office boxes in use. Its population was 241, according to the 2010 census, down from 258 in 2000.

Ellsworth, in southeastern McLean County, had a population of 195 in 2010, down sharply from 271 in 2000. It had 95 post office boxes in use.

The Postal Service met with Thawville and Ellsworth residents June 7 and June 16, respectively, but hasn't yet replied to concerns expressed at the meetings or through surveys, Aguilar said.

Factors considered in deciding whether to close a post office include:

— Whether the postmaster position is vacant.

— How much revenue the post office brings in.

— Productive work hours associated with the facility.

— The cost of leasing or maintaining the facility.

— Whether the work can be done by a neighboring post office.

Aguilar said that if a post office is discontinued, the postal service may arrange with a local business to allocate space for post office boxes, or a rural carrier may deliver mail to a cluster of mailboxes in the community. But no new routes would be established.