Blocking grocery competition hurts communities

I haven't been a fan of Jewel-Osco, and parent company, Albertsons, since they bullied the village of Bartlett into allowing them to build a gas station on the corner of a residential area across from our community park, stating that they needed the gas station to compete with Sam's Club and Costco. They threatened to pull out of Bartlett if they didn't get their way. Ironically, the gas station that was so vital to Jewel-Osco's existence in Bartlett has since been sold, and now sports Shell signs.

Recently, I read in the Daily Herald how Jewel-Osco is blocking other businesses from occupying the former Dominick's locations in Bartlett and elsewhere by buying up the leases in an effort to ward off competition. As the Daily Herald editorial "Time to put communities first" pointed out, this is costing people jobs and artificially limiting people's food shopping options, and the vacated Bartlett location looks like a rundown ghost town that will only get worse the longer the building sits vacant.

John Janisch

Bartlett, IL