Chicago Heights crematory shuts down permanently after accusations of mishandling bodies

A Chicago Heights crematory accused of mishandling remains has been permanently shut down.

Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who regulates crematories, announced Thursday she had permanently revoked Heights Crematory's license through a consent order.

“The practical effect of this order is that Heights and its owners will never operate a crematorium in the state of Illinois again,” Mendoza said in a statement.

The Illinois Funeral Directors Association received a tip in February with photos showing bodies in a trailer on the site of Heights Crematory, 230 E. 11th St., prompting a state investigation.

The state comptroller's also was notified the crematory had bodies piled on top of each other and not in proper containers.

During the investigations, auditors confirmed bodies were being stored bodies in inoperable refrigerated trailers and coolers. Heights management admitted the existence of an additional trailer they had concealed containing 19 bodies from Indiana, the comptroller's office said.

The crematory continued accepting bodies even agreeing they would accept no more on Feb. 19.

"Our office immediately shut down Heights and worked with staff to properly store bodies and complete the required paperwork so that the bodies could be cremated," Mendoza said in the news release.

Part of the problem, she said, was funeral directors dropping off bodies that were not in proper containers and missing all the necessary documentation, which led to delays in cremations.

Eventually, 10 bodies and hundreds of cremated remains whose families Heights had not been able to trace were turned over to the Cook County Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar's office, which has worked "closely" with the comptroller’s office.