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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.
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