Walgreens to Close Chatham Store in Chicago on June 4

Walgreens will close its store in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on June 4. The location is the seventh Walgreens outlet to shut down on the city's South Side in the past year. Chicago Alderman William Hall, who represents the area, said the company should be charged with first-degree corporate abandonment for creating a medicine drought.

He also accused Walgreens of committing a pharmaceutical genocide.

Walgreens executives said at a May 9 town hall that the Chatham store lost more than $1 million last year due to shoplifting and falling prescription sales. The location loses 16 percent of its inventory to theft, four times the company average. The store installed lock boxes to protect merchandise and spent more than $400,000 a year on security guards.

Thieves broke the locks, leaped over counters to steal liquor and cigarettes, and assaulted workers.

Hall did not attend the May 9 town hall, according to residents. He had previously opposed the store's opening, alleging it ran out small local businesses. Walgreens is offering mail-order prescriptions and free delivery for seniors. The company is also making Chatham employees eligible to transfer to other stores.

Ward 15 Alderman Raymond Lopez asked where the anger was when stores faced years of assault by criminals allowed to shoplift, vandalize, and destroy neighborhood institutions.

Citywide crime, including robbery, declined last year in line with national trends. The South Side continues to see higher rates of property crime. Walgreens has stated that crime is the reason for the closure. Strengthening policing and prosecution of property crimes is the key to bringing businesses back to the area, according to the reporting.