Two South Side Target Stores To Close

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Target stores in Morgan Park and Chatham are closing. The announcement caught loyal customers off guard.

Alderman Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward) was surprised when he heard the news Monday.

"Those were the two South Side 'black' targets in the city of Chicago and they're both leaving," Sawyer said.

South Side communities are eager for more corporate investment. Melinda Kelly, a member of the Chatham business association, said her group helped Target setup in the neighborhood in 2002. She said the store helped with employment.

"I'm horrified," Kelly said.

She said she did not receive a courtesy phone call.

"Not even a phone call to say, 'today this is what we're thinking about, closing, can we meet with you to see, can we salvage one of the operations," Kelly said.

After the two Target stores close in February, only three Targets will remain on the South Side, miles apart.

A Target spokesman stated, "the decision to close a store is always difficult, and a store is closed only after it's shown several years of decreasing profitability."

Community members are met with disbelief.

"Target was always full (and) that mall is crowded," Sawyer said.