Just did some searching on the center in Alabama... very interesting stuff. It also looks like United is bound to hold onto bags for 90 days before sending them there, from additional searching.
I would love to know if anyone has any ideas on getting access to the bag purgatory at ORD. I'm really thinking about flying there and seeing how far polite but insistent requesting can get me. My wife lost a large portion of very nice, expensive clothes, shoes, etc. as a result of this (she used to work for Ralph Lauren), easily into the 5K+ range when said and done. If the bag is just sitting there, which it seems is likely, it would be worth my time and money if there were any glimmers of hope that it might work...