Chicago — Macy’s will close its longtime department store at Water Tower Place in Chicago, according to several media reports. The downtown mall is situated on the Magnificent Mile. Macy’s will begin a clearance sale this month at the 170,000-square-foot store. The retailer will continue to operate nearby stores in Skokie, Oak Brook, Schaumburg and Orland Park, Ill. In early 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Macy’s announced that it would close 125 stores nationwide over a 3-year period in an effort to right-size its store fleet. During the first week …