One year ago Friday the Cook County Sheriff’s office made a grim discovery at a south suburban cemetery where four employees allegedly dug up bodies, discarded the remains and then resold plots to unsuspecting families.
One year ago Friday the Cook County Sheriff’s office made a grim discovery at a south suburban cemetery where four employees allegedly dug up bodies, discarded the remains and then resold plots to unsuspecting families. Although Burr Oak Cemetery, 4400 W. 127th St., is under new ownership, the fond memories many families had about their loved ones are permanently destroyed, said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. “The memories these families had will forever be damaged,” Dart told the Defender. “We may never know the full extent of this nightmare but we will certainly try.” Burials have resumed at the cemetery in south suburban Alsip despite the scandal that resulted in new state legislation to better regulate Illinois cemeteries. Black businessmen Lafayette Gatling Sr. and Willie Carter bought the 105-acre Burr Oak Cemetery and the 90-acre Cedar Park Cemetery in south suburban Calumet Park from Perpetua Inc. in April. The sale has not been finalized but is expected to close this year, according to Howard Korenthal, who was appointed chief operating officer for Burr Oak by a federal judge in September as part of bankruptcy proceedings by Perpetua. The historic Black cemetery is the resting place for jazz legends, Negro League ballplayers and civil rights icon Emmett Till. Deidre Baumann, whose Chicago law firm, Baumann & Shuldiner, is representing 400 Black plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit against Burr Oak and Perpetua, said despite the lawsuit being placed on hold in light of Perpetua filing for bankruptcy protection, she expects it to eventually be given class-action status. Gov. Pat Quinn commissioned a task force after the scandal broke and new legislation is now in place to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, Quinn previously told the Defender. The new rules require managers of private cemeteries to be licensed for the first time, calls for the state to create a database to keep track of every burial and provide new protections for consumers. In addition, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will oversee cemetery regulation. All four defendants, who are free on bail, were each charged with dismembering a body and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges, said Tandra Simonton, a spokesman for the Cook County State’s Attorney office.
Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender.
Photo: Defender/Worsom Robinson
About Post Author
