(The Center Square) – After human remains were mishandled by a Macoupin County funeral home, Illinois state lawmakers have filed legislation that would increase the penalties of such actions.
Legislation filed at the Illinois Statehouse is in response to a funeral home in Carlinville that cremated an individual, but the remains were given to the wrong family by the funeral director.
State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, released a statement after the incident was made public.
“It’s heart-wrenching to imagine what the families are enduring over the handling of their loved ones,” McClure said last fall. “If these allegations are true, the funeral home needs to be held accountable to set an example so that this never happens again.”
State Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, R-Morrisonville, said the incident at Heinz Funeral Home went uninvestigated.
“For six months, the state of Illinois failed to investigate the alarming allegations while deceased remains continued to be intentionally mistreated,” Rosenthal said during a news conference in Springfield Tuesday. “To not investigate such allegations for months is unacceptable.”
McClure introduced legislation in response. Senate Bill 3263 was filed Tuesday.
“The legislation that we are filing is designed to make sure human remains are treated with the serious dignity and respect they require, that bereaved families are treated fairly and that anyone who violates the law is punished accordingly,” McClure said.
State Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, said the state did little to stop what was happening at Heinz.
“The state’s failure to act quickly on these heinous allegations against funeral director Albert Gus Heinz is deeply concerning,” Coffey said. “As a state legislator, is it imperative that we reform our current laws to prevent such events from happening again.”
Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said there were dozens of instances of deceased individuals’ remains found to be misplaced stretching back to 2019.
If approved and passed into law, the measure would make the new punishment for any misuse of human remains a Class 4 felony.
