An alderman wants Chicago to become its own pharmacist

CHICAGO - A Chatham Walgreens closed Thursday after more than 20 years, and the alderman who watched it happen wants the city of Chicago to step in where corporate pharmacy has stepped out.

Sixth Ward Alderman William Hall stood outside the store at 8628 S. Cottage Grove Ave. on its last day and announced a plan he says could change how every Chicago neighborhood gets its medication.

The plan:

Hall is proposing a city-run Office of Pharmacy Access. The idea is straightforward: 77 access points, one in each of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods, where residents can fill prescriptions and pick up medications close to home.

The city would act as landlord. Independent pharmacists would move in without the overhead costs that typically push small pharmacies out of business.

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

A pilot program launches on 79th Street in July.

How it gets paid for:

Hall plans to fund the initiative in part by taxing liquor sales between midnight and 6 a.m. He was scheduled to meet with Mayor Brandon Johnson Thursday afternoon to talk about money.

Without city funding, the office does not exist.

Why it matters now:

The South and West sides have been losing pharmacies for years. Last year, Walgreens shut down locations in Bronzeville, South Shore, and South Chicago. Thursday’s closure leaves Chatham without a pharmacy within walking distance. The nearest one is more than a mile away.

Walgreens said the Chatham store lost more than $1 million last year. Theft ran at 16 percent, four times the company average. The company said prescriptions will be transferred automatically to the nearest location.

For Chatham resident George Smith, that is not a solution. Smith has had two strokes and takes eight medications. He said getting to a pharmacy more than a mile away is not simple when you cannot drive yourself.

"I have to find a ride," Smith said. "If something’s happening to you today, they can’t give you any rides."

Hall framed the closure as part of a larger pattern of disinvestment in Black neighborhoods on the South and West sides and said the city can no longer wait for corporate pharmacy to fix a problem it helped create.

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