Dollar stores contribute to economic hardship in Chicago's neighborhoods over many years.

Chicago's South and West side neighborhoods have long been filled with Dollar Tree and Dollar General stores - a valuable resource for residents. Despite their presence, these stores are not Black-owned, meaning the money spent by the neighborhood's Black residents does not stay in the community. This contributes to the already-existing economic issues for these communities.
Tonya Trice, the executive director of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, told Crain's Chicago Business that, “[those stores] take resources out of the community and don’t give us an opportunity to circulate the dollar within the community. That money leaves our community as soon as it is spent.”
These Chicago neighborhoods are also severely lacking in full-service grocery stores, and are filled with fried chicken stores rather than more health-conscious, Black-owned restaurants and eateries. The lack of retail and restaurant variety forces residents to spend their money outside their community, leading to a significant outflow of resources. According to a 2020 City of Chicago study, $200 million in retail spending alone leaves Chicago's South Shore neighborhood annually. The 2021 Chicago Office of Equity & Racial Justice report shows less than 10% of businesses with employees in Cook County are Black- or Latino-owned, despite Black and Latino residents making up more than 50% of the population.
The root cause of these economic issues are largely the result of decades of systemic racism and discriminatory policies and practices. Despite this, some people feel that dollar stores fill a need and have stepped in, whereas others have abandoned these majority-Black and Latino neighborhoods. Chris Chico, the president and CEO of the Back of The Yards Neighborhood Council, told Crain's Chicago Business that when Walmart closed its store in the neighborhood in 2019, the dollar stores stepped in to fill a necessary need - even taking over a long vacant building in the neighborhood.
These dollar stores are not a long-term solution to the economic issues of these Chicago neighborhoods, but they do provide some relief. The need for more Black-owned businesses to take over and provide resources and services to these communities is essential for the financial health and security of these neighborhoods.

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