By S.A. MAWHORR
Daily herald Business Writer
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit Thesday against Walgreen Co. in an effort to get the Deerfield-based drugstore chain to make sure its stores are accessible to the handicapped.
The lawsuit puzzled Walgreen spokesman Michael Polan.
"We're actively addressing these concerns," he said. "I dont know why the attorney general decided to file a lawsuit at this point."
The company hasn't been cooperative, said Melissa Merz, a spokeswoman for the attorney general. Complaints date back to the early 1990s and representatives from the attorney general have been discussing the situation with Walgreen since 2001, Merz said.
"After quite a bit of time has passed
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and nothing happens, you have to take action to protect consumers," Merz said.
After the attorney general informed Walgreen that 69 Illinois stores out of 79 surveyed presented barriers to the handicapped, the company examined the stores last year, Polzin said.
The company bought a machine to measure the incline of ramps for wheelchair use and currently is working to correct any incline that is too steep, although the cold weather is holding up the job to some went, Polzin said.
The attorney general's office also found some stores lacked cuts in the curb that allow wheelchairs to roll from the parking lot to the sidewalk while others had concrete barriers or poles blocking entrances. Other stores did not have enough parking spaces for the handicapped or had
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them located too far from store entrances.
Polzin said he wasn"t aware of deficiencies beyond ramps with too steep of an incline, but said the company with 4,000 stores is sensitive to the needs of the handicapped. "We were the first chain store to in stall automatic doors. We made our aisles wider to allow for wheeldhairs, Polzin said. "We have a history of making our stores as convenient and accessible as possible."
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, seeks to force Walgreen to provide an independent survey of all its stores to document violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It also seeks to force the company to correct any violations in stores built or remodeled after 1988 and pay for an independent observer to oversee the work.
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