Personal Injury Law

Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal Prompts Lawmakers to Act

By Jamie G. Goldstein

As the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal grows bigger, lawmakers are moving to enact tougher regulations to ensure buried family members bodies are properly taken care of and respected. The Illinois Senate is expected to vote today on regulations related to record keeping at cemeteries and imposing tougher criminal penalties for people who disrupt the resting places of those who have passed.

It has been approximately one week since the story first broke about the total disregard for the remains of people buried at Burr Oak Cemetery. Workers at the cemetery were digging up remains and moving them to a mass grave so they could resell the burial plot and keep the money for themselves. It is estimated the workers made over $300,000 on this gruesome scam.

Initial estimates stated about 300 bodies were dumped in the mass grave, but with a cemetery of over 100,000 people buried, that number is likely to grow. This is the last thing that family members should have to worry about when making arrangements for burial of their loved ones. It is truly a disgrace that people would have such disregard for a person's final resting place. If you believe your family member's remains may have been moved from the original burial site at Burr Oak Cemetery, you have the right to take legal action against the cemetery. Contact an attorney for more information.

Full post as published by Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer on July 15, 2009 (boomark / email).