MD80 CREW RETURNED TO THEIR DEP STATION AFTER THE TAIL COMPARTMENT TEMP HIGH LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE R PACK FAILED. THE R PACK HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN UP AND SIGNED OFF BY MAINT.

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RETURN TO ARPT AFTER PACK FAILURE/TAIL COMPARTMENT TEMP HIGH. WE LEFT ORD ENRTE TO SEA AND RIGHT AFTER TKOF WE HAD A TAIL COMPARTMENT TEMP HIGH LIGHT AND A SUBSEQUENT FAILURE OF THE R PACK THAT HAD BEEN WRITTEN UP BY THE INBOUND FLT WHO STATED THEY HAD DIFFICULTY WITH THE PACK RIGHT AFTER TKOF AND DIFFICULTY CTLING TEMP. IT WAS CHKED AND SIGNED OFF BY MAINT AT ORD. WE DID THE NORMAL PROC EARLY AND THAT IMMEDIATELY FIXED THE PROB; HOWEVER; I DECIDED THAT I COULD NOT MAKE THE 4 HR 30 MIN TRIP TO SEA WITH 1 PACK -- THE POSSIBILITY OF FURTHER TAIL COMPARTMENT PROBS AS WELL AS THE SUBSEQUENT FUEL. I NOTIFIED ORD OPS; DISPATCH; AND MAINT AND THEN TOLD APCH CTL OF OUR STATUS AND SAID I WAS RETURNING TO THE ARPT AND WOULD BE MAKING AN OVERWT LNDG. I ASKED FOR CFR TRUCKS TO STAND BY ALONG WITH THE LONGEST RWY SO I COULD PUT THE ACFT DOWN EASY AND HAVE THE WHOLE RWY TO STOP WITHOUT HEATING UP THE BRAKES. I DID NOT; HOWEVER; REQUEST EMER AUTH AND AFTER REALIZING THAT AN OVERWT LNDG IS ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT I COULD HAVE REQUESTED IT FOR IT WAS A LITTLE LATE. WE WERE WELL IN WT LIMITS FOR RWY LIMITED AS WELL AS CLB LIMITED WT; SO I DID NOT REQUEST IT. MAY HAVE BEEN AN ERROR ON MY BEHALF; BUT I WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE ARPT WHERE AT THE TIME THERE WAS NO EMER AND AS SUCH I DID NOT REQUEST IT. I WILL NOT FORGET AGAIN THAT YOU CAN BE ASSURED OF AND WE LANDED UNEVENTFULLY AND WENT BACK TO THE ORIGINAL GATE AFTER WE CHKED THE ACFT AND BRAKES ON THE TXWY. THE NECESSARY WRITE-UPS WERE MADE ON THE OVERWT CONDITION IN THE LOGBOOK.