Burr Oak Cemetery

Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal: More Disinterred Bodies Found In Historic Black Cemetery

AP | DON BABWIN | Posted 12.03.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Graves, Burr Oak, Burr Oak Cemetery, Black Cemetery, Chicago, Alsip, Burr Oak Burial Plots, Chicago News

CHICAGO — Officials at a historic black cemetery in suburban Chicago where former workers allegedly dug up graves in a scheme to resell burial p...

Read Whole Story

Old Caskets Found In New Plots At Burr Oak Cemetery

Chicago Sun-Times | LISA DONOVAN | Posted 12.03.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak, Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Graves, Burr Oak Caskets, Burr Oak Cemetery Alsip Il, Burr Oak Cemetery, Chicago News

Since the embattled Burr Oak Cemetery quietly resumed burials this fall, grave diggers in three separate cases have broken ground on what they thought...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Cemetery Reopening, Tickets Required To Visit Graves

AP | Posted 11.20.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak, Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Reopening, Burr Oak Closed, Burr Oak Burial Plots, Chicago News

ALSIP, Ill. — A Chicago-area cemetery that was shut down after four former workers were accused of digging up graves in a scheme to resell buria...

Read Whole Story

Original Burr Oak Owners Regain Control Of Cemetery After Bankruptcy

ABC 7 | Posted 11.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Cemetery Oversight Task Force, Burr Oak Task Force Report, Burr Oak Cemetery, Perpetua Holdings, Burr Oak, Perpetua Bankrupt, Burr Oak Cemetery Owner, Chicago News

A day after the task force put together by Governor Pat Quinn to investigate what happened at Burr Oak Cemetery released recommendations for more stat...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Cemetery Desecration Suspects Plead Not Guilty

AP | DON BABWIN | Posted 11.08.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Suspects, Burr Oak Cemetery Alsip Il, Burr Oak Charges, Burr Oak Bodies, Cemetery Desecration, Gravedigging, Chicago News

CHICAGO — Four former cemetery workers pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges accusing them of digging up bodies at a historic suburban Chicag...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Workers Lose Jobs As Cemetery Runs Out Of Money

SouthtownStar | LAUREN FITZPATRICK | Posted 09.19.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Roman Szabelski, Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Cemetery Workers, Burr Oak Investigation, Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal, Chicago News

Burr Oak's remaining eight workers have been laid off since Friday when the cemetery's receiver learned in court he couldn't make payroll, the Southto...

Read Whole Story

Authorities Stop Collecting Evidence At Desecrated Burr OakAuthorities Stop Collecting Evidence At Desecrated Burr Oak

AP | DON BABWIN | Posted 09.07.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Evidence, Burr Oak Investigation, Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Bones, Tom Dart, Chicago News

ALSIP, Ill. — Investigators stopped collecting evidence Friday at a historic black cemetery in suburban Chicago where workers allegedly dug up c...

Read Whole Story

4 Former Burr Oak Cemetery Workers Indicted For Dismembering, Desecrating Human Remains

AP | DON BABWIN | Posted 09.06.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Trial, Burr Oak Scheme, Carolyn Towns, Maurice Dailey, Keith Nicks, Terrence Nicks, Chicago News

CHICAGO — Four workers accused of digging up corpses at a historic Chicago-area cemetery as part of a scheme to resell plots have been indicted ...

Read Whole Story

Skeleton In Suit And Tie Found Without Casket At Burr Oak

AP | DON BABWIN | Posted 08.31.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Skeleton, Burr Oak Graves, Burr Oak Scheme, Cemetery Desecration, Tom Dart, Chicago News

ALSIP, Ill. — Skeletal remains of a man wearing a suit and tie were found sitting in a burial vault with no casket in sight at a historic black ...

Read Whole Story

Cops Dropped Burr Oak Case In 2005 Despite Finding Human Bones

Chicago Tribune | Kim Janssen | Posted 08.31.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Alsip Police Burr Oak, Burr Oak Cemetery Alsip Il, Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Bones, Burr Oak Investigation, Carolyn Towns, Chicago News

Alsip police found human bones and shattered vaults dumped in plain view at Burr Oak Cemetery four years ago but detectives dropped the case within a ...

Read Whole Story

More Burial Vaults Found Dumped In Woods At Burr Oak Cemetery

AP | DON BABWIN | Posted 08.31.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak, Burr Oak Burial Vaults, Burr Oak Graves, Burr Oak Headstones, Burr Oak Graves Search, Burr Oak Bodies, Chicago News

ALSIP, Ill. — Skeletal remains of a man wearing a suit and tie were found sitting in a burial vault with no casket in sight at a historic black ...

Read Whole Story

Congressional Panel Holds Burr Oak Cemetery Hearing (VIDEO)

AP | Rupa Shenoy | Posted 08.27.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Bobby Rush, Illinois Cemetery Regulations, Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Hearing, Bobby Rush Burr Oak, Burr Oak Congress, Burr Oak Cemtery Oversight, Dan Hynes, Jesse Jackson Jr., Video, Danny Davis, Chicago News

CHICAGO (AP) -- A patchwork of inconsistent state laws governing cemeteries allow scandals like one in suburban Chicago, where four people are accused...

Read Whole Story

Human Bone Found At Another Chicago-Area Cemetery

NBC Chicago | Posted 08.25.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Chciago Cemetery Scam, Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens South Cemetery, Burr Oak Cemetery, Mount Glenwood Cemetery, Chicago News

Another suburban Chicago cemetery has become the center of investigation after a human bone was found by a worker from an outside company....

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Update: One Suspect Out Of Jail, Jesse Jackson Calls For Tighter Cemetery Regulation

AP | CARYN ROUSSEAU | Posted 08.23.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Maurice Dailey, Jesse Jackson, Burr Oak Suspects, Burr Oak Cemetery, Jesse Jackson Burr Oak, Illinois Cemetery Oversight Task Force, Black Cemeteries, Chicago News

CHICAGO (AP) -- Black funeral directors, along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, pushed for cemetery regulation Thursday at the first meeting of an Illinoi...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Cemetery Reconsecrated By Religious Leaders

AP | Posted 08.22.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Reconsecration, Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Remains, Burr Oak Prayer, Chicago News

ALSIP, Ill. (AP) -- Protestant, Catholic and Jewish leaders have gathered in prayer to reconsecrate the grounds at a suburban Chicago cemetery where f...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Update: Cook County To Sue Cemetery Owners, Over 200 Bones Found

AP | MIKE ROBINSON | Posted 08.21.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery, Cook County Burr Oak, Burr Oak Investigation, Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Remains, Tom Dart, Robert Grant, Chicago News

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to sue the owners of a historic black cemetery in suburban Chicago to recover the...

Read Whole Story

Keeping Score in Chicago Episode 16: Rick Telander vs. the Sportswriters

Mark Konkol and Todd Fooks | Posted 08.21.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Sports, Burr Oak Cemetery, Baseball Hall of Fame Steroids, Chicago Podcasts, Rick Telander, Steroid Era, Steroids in Baseball, Keeping Score in Chicago, Rick Telander Steroids, Chicago News
Mark Konkol and Todd Fooks

Sun-Times sports columnist Rick Telander talks about how Japanese baseball writers spoiled his attempt to prompt a serious talk about voting Steroid Era players into the Hall of Fame.

Read Post

Burr Oak Gravedigger Talks About Blowing Whistle On Cemetery Scheme

AP | DON BABWIN | Posted 08.21.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Willie Esper, Burr Oak Whistleblower, Burr Oak Cemetery, Cemetery Desecration, Burr Oak, Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Bones, Chicago News

ALSIP, Ill. — Willie Esper was just trying to get better at his job as a gravedigger when he unearthed a scandal. Loose bones kept turning up a...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Cemetery Opening Online Records Database

AP | Posted 08.21.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery Alsip Il, Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak, Emmett Till, Burr Oak Database, Cook County Sheriff, Burr Oak Records, Burr Oak Cemetery Records, Chicago News

ALSIP, Ill. (AP) -- Authorities plan to give the public access to a searchable online database of nearly 100,000 graves at the historic black cemetery...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Official: Sheriff Exaggerated Crime, Bones Didn't Litter Cemetery

ABC 7 | Ben Bradley | Posted 08.19.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Trudi Foushee, Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Graves, Burr Oak Cemetery, Tom Dart Burr Oak, Tom Dart, Perpetua Holdings, Chicago News

A war of words began Saturday as those who run Burr Oak Cemetery fired back at Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Cemetery authorities say the sheriff has...

Read Whole Story

Quinn Forms Cemetery Task Force In Wake Of Burr Oak (VIDEO)

AP | KAREN HAWKINS | Posted 08.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Video, Pat Quinn, Illinois Cemetery Regulations, Burr Oak Cemetery, Pat Quinn Burr Oak, William McNary, Burr Oak Cemetery Task Force, Chicago News

CHICAGO (AP) -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has formed an oversight task force for the state's cemeteries as authorities continue to investigate a histori...

Read Whole Story

Identifying The Thousands Of 'Jumbled Bones' At Burr Oak Cemetery Nearly Impossible: Experts

AP | RUPA SHENOY | Posted 08.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Burr Oak Cemetery, Burr Oak Remains, Burr Oak Bodies, Burr Oak Burial Plots, Tom Dart, Michael Baden, Burr Oak Identification, Burr Oak Dna, Chicago News

CHICAGO — Human remains strewn amid overgrown weeds have deteriorated into jumbled bones. Paper records in a rusted metal cabinet have dissolved...

Read Whole Story

Emmett Till's Casket Could Be Moved To Mississippi Museum From Desecrated Cemetery

SouthtownStar | LAUREN FITZPATRICK | Posted 08.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Emmett Till, Philadelphia Civil Rights Museum, Burr Oak Cemetery, Emmett Till Casket, Chicago News

Emmett Till's glass-topped casket that showed evidence of his death by lynching in 1955 turned up last week in the storage shed of an Alsip cemetery e...

Read Whole Story

Burr Oak Cemetery Reform Legislation Falls By The Wayside In Springfield

Chicago Tribune | Ray Long and Rick Pearson | Posted 08.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Cemetery Reforms, Illinois Cemetery Regulations, Burr Oak Cemetery, Pat Quinn, Dan Hynes, Burr Oak Legislation, Chicago News

State lawmakers left the State Capitol until the fall without addressing promised reforms of the cemetery industry spurred by the discoveries of disin...

Read Whole Story

Court Appoints New Director For Scandal-Plagued Burr Oak Cemetery, Class Action Suit Filed

AP/Chicago Tribune | Posted 08.15.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Roman Szabelski, Burr Oak Cemetery, Deborah Charles, Burr Oak Receivership, Burr Oak Class Action Suit, Burr Oak Lawsuits, Ezzard Charles, Tom Dart, Chicago News

CHICAGO (AP) -- A Cook County judge has appointed a veteran cemetery director to run everyday operations at Burr Oak Cemetery, where an investigation ...

Read Whole Story