(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Aldi grocery store chain denies it has abandoned a West Side community by closing a store there after community leaders accused the company of betrayal.
Dr. David Ansell, senior vice president of Community Health Equity at Rush University Medical Center, said the Aldi at Madison near Hamlin in West Garfield Park closed without warning two weeks ago.
That left many residents without their only source of affordable, fresh and healthy food, he said.
“It’s an act of corporate irresponsibility,” Ansell said.
Ansell joined several community leaders Thursday in demanding Aldi give the building to community so that another grocer can open there.
Aldi released a written response in which the company claims it was forced to close the store after years of losing money.
The grocery chain also denied it has abandoned the community because it has several nearby stores, including one just over a mile from the one that closed.
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