Walgreens’s decision to shutter its store in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood has elicited a major response from elected officials and the South Side community.
For one customer, Denitra Gardner, weekly access to a Walgreens pharmacy is key for her husband’s health.
“Years he’s had this medication, and to have the rug pulled from under you,” Gardner said.
For Michelle Thompkins, another shopper, seeing another Chicago Walgreens close means more drive time to pick up her son’s medicine.
“It makes it that much harder for me to get the insulin my son needs, and those vital resources,” Thompkins said.
Residents learned the Walgreens on Cottage Grove Avenue will close in one month, leaving a void and feelings of abandonment for the community.
“We are not here to beg Walgreens. We are saying this is the wrong decision, and in my opinion, this is a corporate crime,” 6th Ward Ald. William Hall said.
In a statement to NBC Chicago, Walgreens said its lease is up, and the store has experienced significantly higher levels of theft and violence than other locations, saying “while this was not an easy decision, safety must remain our top priority.”
“We do need Walgreens to give us a workable solution,” Gardner said.
The next closest Walgreens is over a mile away on East 87th Street, and prescriptions from the Chatham location will be sent there for now.
The closing date is June 4.
