A Chicago alderman is demanding that Walgreens face charges of “first-degree corporate abandonment” after the pharmacy chain announced it will close its Chatham location on June 4, citing rampant theft and violence at the store.
The Walgreens at 8628 S. Cottage Grove Ave. will shut permanently on June 4, according to Alderman William Hall and the company. It is the only Walgreens in the neighborhood, with the nearest location 1.3 miles away at 87th and Stony Island Avenue.
In a statement, a Walgreens spokesperson said the store experienced “significantly higher levels of theft and violent incidents” than its other locations, and that ongoing safety challenges made it increasingly difficult to protect staff and customers. “Safety must remain our top priority,” the company said.
“Walgreens should be charged with first-degree corporate abandonment,” Mr. Hall said at a news conference Monday alongside community members. “It should be a crime, the way they’re treating our elders. It should be a crime, the way they’re treating our families.”
Mr. Hall told Fox 32’s “The Chicago Report” that Walgreens should shift to a different store model rather than shutter the location.
“They left me a message. They didn’t even give us a ramp-up time, enough time for the community,” he said. “It’s less than 30 days that this place will be gone. So that means all the prescriptions will either go a mile east or a mile west, which is completely unacceptable.”
Mr. Hall also called on Walgreens to transform the Cottage Grove store or invest in local healthcare organizations, noting the company has found ways to stay open in other neighborhoods — such as a renovated South Loop location where most merchandise is locked away.
Dozens of residents joined Monday’s rally outside the store, holding signs reading “Senior Lives Matter” and chanting “do right by us.” Daycare owner Latonya Mitchell said her center’s families were alarmed by the closure, as many low-income children rely on the store for medications, including ADHD and asthma prescriptions. “It’s unacceptable to these children that they can’t get the things that they need from a place like this,” she said.
Terrell Gardner, a 69-year-old who has undergone two kidney transplants and takes roughly 14 pills daily, said the closure will force him to travel several miles for medication. His wife, Denitra, said Walgreens had been “a staple in our lives” for life-sustaining prescriptions.
Alderman Lamont Robinson, who joined the protest, said he is drafting a “big box ordinance” that would prevent corporations like Walgreens, Walmart and Target from abandoning communities. A separate ordinance under consideration since 2023 would require companies operating in Tax Increment Financing districts to reimburse the city if they close — and this Walgreens sits within such a district, which expires this year.
Since 2025, at least seven Walgreens locations on the South Side have shuttered or are set to close, including the area’s only specialty pharmacy on East 71st Street, which is slated to close May 19.
Walgreens said prescriptions will be automatically transferred to nearby stores after June 4, and patients at the Cottage Grove location are eligible for 90 days of free prescription delivery to ease the transition.
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