A Year In Review for the Chatham Community

Several elected officials and community stakeholders participated in a Sept. 30, 2019 groundbreaking ceremony in Auburn Gresham for a new Metra station slated for completion in 2021. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson
Several elected officials and community stakeholders participated in a Sept. 30, 2019 groundbreaking ceremony in Auburn Gresham for a new Metra station slated for completion in 2021. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson

A Year In Review for the Chatham Community

BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer

In 2019, a lot took place in Chatham, a black, middle-class community on the South Side, such as residents re-electing the incumbent alderman, experiencing longtime businesses shutting down, and gaining a nearby Metra station for commuters.

Election

Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), whose late father Eugene Sawyer Jr. served as Chicago’s 53rd mayor from 1987 to 1989, was elected by voters to continue representing Chatham at City Hall. He narrowly defeated Chatham resident Debra Foster-Bonner in an April runoff. Sawyer, who was first elected in 2011, is an attorney and also the former chairman on the City Council’s Black Caucus.

Economic Hardship

Even though the economy overall remains healthy for the country, that did not transfer over to local, retail stores. Target closed its store at 8560 S. Cottage Grove Ave. in February after a grand opening in 2002. The 126,000-square-foot store had employed 120 people, according to Jacqueline DeBuse, a spokeswoman for Target Corp.

“Our decision to close the store at 8560 S. Cottage Grove Ave. is based on the performance of the stores and is not about a neighborhood or geography,” Jacqueline DeBuse, a spokeswoman for Target Corp., told the Citizen. “(And before closing a store) Target takes into account many factors, including the performance and profitability of a store over several years.”

But Target would not be the only casualty for Chatham.

Soon afterwards, the Chatham Food Market, founded as a black-owned business before it was sold in 2008, temporarily closed for remodeling. However, since its closure, the 4,000-square-foot store at 327 E. 79th St., has given away its entire inventory of meats and canned goods to produce and housewares to the public.

And the city of Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department confirmed the store would not reopen even though the license for the business does not expire until October 2020.

“This summer, city investigators from the Building Department went there to check for any building code violations and found none,” said Isaac Reichman, a spokesman for the BACP. But according to Reichman, city investigators were told by management that it would likely close the store. “So, it’s unclear right now what the owners plan to do with the business,” Reichman added.

And BJ’s Market & Bakery in nearby Calumet Heights, whose regular customers included many Chatham residents, relocated its longtime location at 8734 S. Stony Island Ave. down the street to 9501 S. Stony Island Ave.

“(On Dec. 9) we signed a (five-year) lease and now we have to go through the process of setting up equipment, getting it inspected and all sorts of stuff,” said Hank Meyer, who co-owns BJ’s Market with his brother John Meyer.

Transportation

While Chatham already has a Metra station at 83rd Street and Ellis Avenue, the commuter company announced in 2019 plans to open a nearby station in Auburn Gresham at 79th Street and Lowe Avenue in 2020.

“This community needs a station and it is Metra’s goal to make that happen as quickly as possible,” said Jim Derwinski, CEO and executive director of Metra. “Access to public transportation is proven to improve the overall economic health and vitality of a community.”

The long awaited project was first conceived by former Alderman Latasha Thomas (17th) and later spearheaded by State Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-16th) and State Representative Mary Flowers (31st) in the Illinois Legislature; U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (1st) in Congress; Ald. David Moore (17th) in City Council; and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

“I’m excited and hopeful that the Auburn Park Metra Station will be more than an added convenience for consumers but rather a key part of economic renaissance for this hard hit area,” said Collins. “This station is also a crucial step in the direction of equalizing infrastructure investments across all communities.”

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