* Tribune…
State licensing regulators visited South Chicago Chapel funeral home at least twice in the wake of problems at its owners’ crematory business. But there is no indication in state paperwork that the problems found at Heights Crematory or other red flags triggered aggressive regular inspections of the Morgans’ businesses, or their ongoing operating practices.
Because that’s not how the system is set up: Illinois investigations of funeral homes typically come only after complaints are made, according to state guidance.
“It’s pretty obvious to be angry at the Morgans for their alleged nefarious activities, but frankly at this point I’m really angry at the agencies in Illinois that should have been keeping their eye on them,” said Michael D. Sharkey, general counsel at the Illinois Funeral Directors Association.
* Neil Steinberg…
Meanwhile, Illinois funeral directors are licensed but not the funeral homes that they operate, which are inspected when they open or change hands, and never inspected again, unless there is a complaint, and sometimes not even then. Which leads to periodic stomach-churning horrors, such as the 56 decomposing bodies found at a funeral home in South Deering, documented in the Sun-Times this past week.
Across the border is a much different situation.
“In the state of Wisconsin, there is licensing of the actual physical plant of the funeral home,” said Michael D. Sharkey, a funeral director in Wisconsin for 30 years. “They do not do that in Illinois. When something goes wrong, nobody notices. That comes as a surprise to some people.”
Sharkey is uniquely situated to compare the two states, being the legal representative of both the Wisconsin Funeral Directors Association and the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, as well as the associations in South Dakota and Minnesota, where he lives.
This all seems pretty straight-forward. Illinois law has a gaping hole that excludes funeral homes from regular inspections. The funeral directors want state regulation, so what’s the holdup?
I figure there’s either a brick on this somewhere or nobody has really pushed the idea, but whatever the case it’s time to start moving forward.
And maybe put the oversight under IDPH or another agency qualified to deal with this stuff.
- The Real Downstate - Monday, Aug 17, 26 @ 1:27 pm:
Of course the funeral directors don’t care about funeral home licensing, but has anyone asked the Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association?
- Thomas Paine - Monday, Aug 17, 26 @ 2:03 pm:
IDPH is the best answer. They already inspect hospitals and nursing homes.
- Derek Smalls - Monday, Aug 17, 26 @ 2:14 pm:
Cannabis dispensaries get inspected at least once a month, every month, by the State of Illinois. Assuming the funeral directors want a genuinely intensive regulatory system, versus a paper tiger with lots of rules but little enforcement, then they should be prepared for some steep fees for the homes. Dispensaries pay $30k per license per year.
- Derek Smalls - Monday, Aug 17, 26 @ 2:25 pm:
Given the demand for significant oversight, not sure IDPH is the answer. They inspect nursing homes about once a year. https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/health-care-regulation/nursing-homes/regulation.html
They also partner with their federal counterparts (Center for Medicare and Medicaid) for oversight. There is no similar federal counterpart for funeral homes.
- Contrarian - Monday, Aug 17, 26 @ 3:22 pm:
The potential for problems at crematoriums is probably worse than traditional funeral homes that embalm the dead and conduct traditional burials. HBO ran a limited three part series (”The Mortician”) on a scandalous individual who operated a cut rate cremation business in California. His workers incinerated dozens of bodies at a time rather than one at a time. Family members were given the wrong cremains.
- MyTwoCents - Monday, Aug 17, 26 @ 4:48 pm:
As these articles and others previously have alluded to, regulation of the funeral industry is universal across the US. The national organization for regulators even publishes a report summarizing how each state regulates the industry.
https://theconferenceonline.org/download/regulations-in-licensing/
All legislators would have to do is look at what’s done in other states and then figure out what changes to make in Illinois because something drastic needs to change.