Chicago Residents FURIOUS After Walgreens Shuts Down Location #abandonment #corporateamerica #news

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Walgreens should be charged with first-degree corporate abandonment.

[00:00:04]It should be a crime the way they're treating our elders. It should be a crime the way they're treating our families. A Walgreens spokesperson responding with a statement in part, quote, "Despite a range of efforts including previous operating adjustments, these ongoing safety challenges made it increasingly difficult to maintain a secure environment for our team members and customers." do you right by us.

[00:00:27]Community members, leaders, and families rallied saying the loss of this Walgreens at 86th and Cottage Grove won't just close a store, it will take away a critical lifeline. We're not here to beg Walgreens to stay. We are saying that their decision is the wrong decision. And in my opinion, it should be considered a first-degree corporate crime.

[00:00:47]Because the amount of people that will be hurt by this, the amount of elders that will not have access to a health care is evil. Walgreens says the store is closing due to safety concerns including theft and violence, but residents say that doesn't match what they see day-to-day.

[00:01:02]>> The lie that they're telling us is it's a health or a loss prevention issue.

[00:01:08]When 12th and State Street had loss prevention, they redesigned.

[00:01:11]Again, this neighborhood is not broke.

[00:01:14]>> The neighborhood's pharmacy will soon be more than a So, there's this Walgreens on 86th and Cottage Grove on Chicago's South South Side.

[00:01:25]And when they announced they were closing it down, people lost it.

[00:01:29]Community leaders, residents, families, they all started saying Walgreens should be charged with what they called quote-unquote corporate abandonment.

[00:01:40]They're saying it's a crime the way they are treating elders, the way they're treating families. The narrative was clear. This is abandonment. This is disinvestment. This is corporate greed.

[00:01:52]But then something happened.

[00:01:54]Walgreens executives actually showed up and hosted a town hall and they didn't just make excuses. They dropped the actual financial data. They pulled the receipts, literally showed the numbers on why this store couldn't stay open.

[00:02:07]So, we're going to look at what those numbers actually showed and why this matters for understanding how and why communities lose resources and convenience in the first place. So, with no further ado, let's check out this news clip.

[00:02:20]Walgreens is revealing some of the specific financial problems that prompted it to close a long-time location on Chicago's South Side. That announcement that the Walgreens at 86th and Cottage Grove will close on June 4th has prompted a major backlash among customers and Chatham residents.

[00:02:39]I'm here today because we're closing the store on 86th and Cottage Grove.

[00:02:44]I just want to make sure everyone understands closing stores are not our goal.

[00:02:49]It's the last resort.

[00:02:50]A trio of Walgreens executives, including the manager of the soon-to-be-closed