Walgreens closing Chatham store as officials warn of pharmacy deserts

Walgreens said it was closing in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on Thursday, citing violence and theft as the reason they can no longer keep their doors open.

But there is growing concern about where families will get their medications.

In May, a Walgreens spokesperson told CBS News Chicago the store at 8628 S. Cottage Grove Ave. has experienced "significantly higher levels of theft and violent incidents than our other locations."

The spokesperson said the drug store giant has made adjustments to the operations at the store and taken other steps to mitigate the issue, but "ongoing safety challenges" made it hard to keep staff and customers safe, and so Walgreens has chosen to close the store.  

"Safety must remain our top priority," Walgreens said.

But a resident visiting the store for the last time on Thursday said, "I understand about theft and all of that, but it's always something being taken away." 

Neighbors in Chatham said the closure will leave a gap in access to medicine, vitamins, and basic necessities such as a gallon of milk or toiletries in the neighborhood.

"It disrupts the medical treatment plans for the life sustaining needs of the families in the community," a neighbor said.

Ald. William Hall (6th) said closures like the one affecting the Chatham Walgreens are creating pharmacy deserts in Chicago. The nearest Walgreens to the one closing in Chatham is more than a mile away, at 87th Street and Stony Island Avenue.  

Ald. Hall was among several elected officials who gathered outside the Walgreens Thursday morning. He is pushing for the city to take ownership of this issue through a new "office of pharmacy access," which will secure space for pharmacists and cover their overhead costs in neighborhoods that require access to medicine.

Hall wants to create 77 access points for people to receive medications and supplements in the next seven years. The alderman said he is starting a pilot program in July at 79th Street and Rhodes Avenue.

The alderman said he was meeting with Mayor Brandon Johnson to talk about funding the office of pharmacy access initiative on Thursday afternoon. One idea for doing so was to tax liquor sales between midnight and 6 a.m.

"We can become the landlord. We can give small pharmacists the opportunity to not deal with the overhead that sometimes costs them business," Hall said. 

Last year, Walgreens announced it was closing five Chicago locations, including a significant store in the Bronzeville neighborhood at 35th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Walgreens also abandoned stores at 71st Street and Jeffery Boulevard in South Shore, and 79th Street and Jeffery Boulevard in South Chicago.

Neighbors express concern over medication access

In May, Darryl Smith told CBS News that his 76-year-old mother relies on medication from Walgreens after having a lung transplant. She takes 54 pills a day, and during his lunch break, he goes to the Walgreens in Chatham to pick up her medication.  

 "They don't care about the well-being. It's not their family that's on these meds," he said. "If they close this Walgreens, the next one is not within a distance for me to do on my lunch break. So it's a real inconvenience."

Other neighbors have called the store a "vital resource" to the community.