Walgreens to close Chatham store, citing theft and violence

Dozens of South Side residents gathered on Monday outside of a Chatham Walgreens, waving signs saying “Senior Lives Matter” and “End Corporate Abandonment,” after learning the store will be closing.

Daycare owner Latonya Mitchell said her center's families were alarmed that the pharmacy would be closing. Many of the children she cares for at Exceptional Little Leaders Academy are from low-income families that visit the Walgreens because it's within walking distance, she said. The children she serves need medication for conditions like ADHD and asthma, she said.

“It's unacceptable to these children that they can't get the things that they need from a place like this, and then you gotta leave us destitute and in a desert,” Mitchell said. “That's not fair to us, and that's not fair to these children. That's not fair to our seniors, and that's not fair to the members of this community.”

Walgreens said in a statement that theft and violent incidents led to its decision to close the store at 8628 S. Cottage Grove Ave. It's the only Walgreens in the neighborhood, with the nearest location 1.3 miles away at 1616 E. 87th St.

“Despite a range of efforts, including previous operating adjustments, these ongoing safety challenges have made it increasingly difficult to maintain a secure environment for our team members and customers,” the company said. “While this was not an easy decision, safety must remain our top priority.”

Employees at the Chatham store will be able to transfer to other locations, the company said.

The store is slated to close June 4, the Deerfield-based company said. After the closure, prescriptions will “be automatically transferred” to the nearest stores to “ensure uninterrupted service.” Pharmacy customers will also be able to receive free prescription delivery for 90 days.

During a news conference outside the store, residents and local leaders said the pharmacy's closure would negatively impact the community.

“Walgreens has decided that they don't want to tolerate us no more,” 6th Ward Ald. William Hall said. “They had no dignity when they closed the door, but we showed dignity with our money to invest to open the store. Let's not forget that it's TIF money that got this here. And so now that the TIF is dry, Walgreens, all of a sudden is drying up. And so again, what Walgreens has showed us is that they're not even willing to sit down at the table to have a conversation with the community.”

A portion of the area, which includes Walgreens, was designated as a tax increment financing district in 2002 with its expiration occurring this year.

The area has a large population of older adults, many of whom don't drive and rely on the pharmacy for medication access, Hall said.

“Our seniors deserve better than silence and sudden change,” Hall said.

Since 2025, at least seven Walgreens locations on the South Side have shuttered or will close, including the area’s only specialty pharmacy at 2351 E. 71st St., which will close May 19.

Walgreens had announced plans in 2025 to close five locations on the South and West sides, as part of a plan to shutter 1,200 locations by 2027. Walgreens, which was acquired by Sycamore Partners in 2025, has previously said it would prioritize closing poor-performing stores owned by the company, or locations where the leases are expiring.

“While we won’t be able to keep every store open, closures are always a last resort,” Walgreens said Monday. “We expect to close fewer than 100 stores in 2026 and have approved four new store openings.”

The South and West sides have fewer pharmacy locations than other areas of the city. Access to the two largest pharmacy chains in Chicago — Walgreens and CVS — is much higher in the city’s white communities than in Black or Latino areas, a 2022 Chicago Sun-Times analysis showed. Of Walgreen's more than 100 Chicago locations, about one-third are on the South and West sides.

“Walgreens has not said what they're going to do to fill the gap in this community,” Hall said. “When Walgreens opened years ago, everybody thought Walgreens was the best option. Now that Walgreens is leaving, we have no option. But years ago, we had Black pharmacies all up and down King Drive … but Walgreens came and swiped ... them out.”

Hall said he wants Walgreens to redesign the Chatham location and give the community a five-year commitment to stay in the neighborhood.

Resident Daryl Smith was clutching a bag stuffed to the brim with medications.

“I'm holding a bag with medicine that my mother takes every single day for the rest of her life. Every pill bottle in here, by the way, has a Walgreens cap on it,” Smith said. “I live in the 16th Ward. They closed the 63rd and King Drive [location]. They closed 63rd and Halsted. … I shouldn’t have to drive across town to find a Walgreens on my lunch break.”