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| Lawmakers Fail to Pass Cemetery Reforms |
While legislators in Springfield passed some reforms during the fall Veto Session, they failed to act on one reform pushed by Gov. Pat Quinn: Legislation that would better regulate cemeteries was not called for a vote in the Senate.
The legislation was drafted after the tragedy at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, where bodies were removed from graves and the plots resold off the books.
It was a short time later that Quinn created the Cemetery Oversight Task Force to investigate what went wrong at Burr Oak and gain an overview of the cemetery business in the state.
Among the recommendations:
* Require each death certificate to note where the body of the deceased is buried, including cemetery and exact grave location.
* Consolidate regulatory authority of funeral and burial practices into the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
* Amend and consolidate existing statutes to strengthen industry regulation and enforcement.
* Prohibit cemetery operators and funeral directors from requiring that services and merchandise be paid for only in cash.
* Enable the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to administer the program currently provided for under the Cemetery Care Act for the purpose of cleaning up abandoned or neglected cemeteries.
Quinn says Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) indicated that the Senate will take up the legislation in mid-January. The measure has already passed in the House.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 11 06 09 by Newsroom |
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