CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM I SEPTEMBER 11, 2023
Walgreens’ health care push is ailing Skeptics who said a retail veteran might not be the right kind of executive to lead a drive into the sector are vindicated as Brewer exits
GEOFFREY BLACK
By Katherine Davis
The high cost of dollar stores on low-income neighborhoods Limited retail options on the South and West sides add to ongoing economic distress I PAGE 15
Roz Brewer’s departure as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance comes in the midst of a multibillion-dollar effort to stand up a new heath care business that has so far paid few dividends. The Deerfield-based pharmacy giant announced Sept. 1 that Brewer stepped down from her role after less than three years — a period in which the company’s stock price lost more than half its value. In Brewer’s place, Walgreens lead independent board director Ginger Graham — an executive with the health care experience that Brewer, a veteran of Starbucks and Sam’s Club, lacked — will serve as interim CEO. Brewer, 61, took over the company in 2021 as it embarked on an effort to transition away from its core retail pharmacy business and leap head-first into the complex and crowded health care
provider market. Like its peers and other retail companies — from CVS Health to Walmart and Amazon — Walgreens has attempted to make money in health care delivery as its traditional retail pharmacy business has come under pressure from e-commerce players and pharmacy industry entrants. Walgreens has invested billions into acquiring health care assets, from primary care to specialty pharmacy services, many of which were executed under Brewer’s tenure. But the strategy has yet to excite investors as the segment is growing slower than anticipated. Industry analysts say it might still be too early to determine the strategy’s success or failure, but Brewer’s departure signals that Walgreens recognizes it’s time to kick-start the segment into growth and is hoping See WALGREENS on Page 20
New plan would remake the CTA and Metra A group of lawmakers, transit officials and civic leaders has drafted a ‘bold’ outline of proposed changes for the region’s transportation system By Greg Hinz
With a looming financial cliff threatening to force cuts by as much as 40% in Chicago-area public transit service, voters are getting their first look at a plan that’s spent months in development on how to remake the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace for the post-COVID era.
The plan is, to use its own word, “bold” — calling for new investments and fare cuts funded by expanding the state sales tax to cover more services and raising tolls on the Illinois Tollway, a shift of service away from its current downtown focus and the addition of more service, particularly on buses. At the heart of the plan is what
amounts to a proposed massive regional deal in which City Hall would have to give up control of the Chicago Transit Authority, but in exchange get lots more money and relief from a current funding formula that the CTA argues has particularly worked against the interests of its riders. See TRANSIT on Page 22
With service cuts of up to 40% looming for Chicago-area public transit service, voters are getting their first look at a plan that’s spent months in development. I FILE PHOTO
VOL. 46, NO. 36 l COPYRIGHT 2023 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
GREG HINZ Crain’s longtime political columnist takes stock as he steps back after half a century. PAGE 2
CRAIN’S LIST Check out our updated roundup to get the verdict on the largest law firms in the Chicago area. PAGE 12