Walgreen Stores Said to be 'Fortresses' to the Disabled

The Illinois attorney general has sued Walgreen Co. (Deerfield, Ill.), accusing the drugstore giant of failing to make its Illinois stores accessible to customers with disabilities.

According to a report in Crain's Chicago Business, the suit claims that disabled customers have difficulty entering Walgreen's stores because of steep ramp slopes and the presence of huge cement trashcans and steel bars that are meant to keep shopping carts in the stores.

Such barriers make shopping at Walgreen's difficult or impossible for people who are targeted by the chain's advertising for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, according to the lawsuit filed by Lisa Madigan in the Chancery Division of the Cook County Circuit Court

The suit seeks a court order requiring the drugstore chain to provide an independent statewide survey of its stores' exteriors and correct any violations at stores constructed or altered after 1988, as required by state law. The suit also asks the court to fine Walgreen up to $250 per day for each violation of the accessibility laws.

“Walgreen's has ignored common-sense laws intended to ensure access to consumers,” Madigan said. “These are drug stores, not fortresses.”

A Walgreen's spokesman told Crain's that the lawsuit came as a surprise. He said the 4000-store chain, which has more than 400 stores in Illinois, has been working with the attorney general for months and already has addressed many of the concerns raised in the suit.

“Why the lawsuit was filed at this time, we really don't know,” he said. “We feel that we're actively addressing these issues.” Walgreen is fixing ramps that are too steep and much of the work on company-owned stores is finished, he said. But there have been some weather delays and it's also taking longer to fix ramps at leased stores, where landlords are required to do the work.

The attorney general's office said it “disagrees with that assessment.” A spokesperson acknowledged that Walgreen has made some changes, but considers them minor compared with the scope of the problem. “We've been receiving complaints about Walgreen's since 1990,” she said. “We are not talking about isolated incidents. This is widespread.” From November 2001 to February 2002, the attorney general's office conducted a survey of 79 Walgreen's locations in various Chicago-area counties, and found that 69 stores violated the law.