April 9th, 2010 is the deadline to file a claim in the Burr oak Cemetery Scandal. This scandal was exposed in July 2009. Over 300 Graves were desecrated and preneed funds (the money people paid for funerals) were stolen.
2009 Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal
“A deadline is approaching for families affected by the Burr Oak grave desecration scandal.
The desecration of hundreds of plots at the Alsip graveyard made national headlines last summer
Relatives of loved ones buried there now have until April 9, 2010 to file claims against the Alsip Cemetery.
Burr Oak Cemetery was shut down for several months after the discovery of a grisly scheme.
Four former cemetery workers are charged with digging up and re-selling graves.
The United States Congress is considering national cemetery reform in response to this scandal. The Legislation is called the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009(HR 3655).
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.
Congressman Bobby Rush(D-IL) will be a Speaker at the The Funeral Consumers Alliance 2010 Conference. Congressman Rush is the sponsor of the Bereaved Consumers Bill of RightsActof 2009-Funeral and Cemetery and Reform Legislation written in response to the tragic Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal.of July 2009. The conference is scheduled for June 2010.
Congressman Bobby Rush
Early in March 2010, Congressman Rush spoke at the NFDA Advocacy Summit a meeting of Funeral Industry Lobbyists in Washington DC. Interestingly, both the Funeral Consumers Alliance and the National Funeral Directors Association support the Funeral and Cemetery Reform legislation, which will set up a second “Death Care” Industry Rule regulating Cemeteries and Third parties that sell Funeral Goods and Services to the public. Click HERE For Details of the this legisation
These organizations, FCA and NFDA are traditionally opposed to one another.
The Funeral Consumers Alliance(FCA) is the premier Funeral Industry Consumer watchdog group. The National Funeral Directors Association,NFDA is the primary Organization For Funeral Directors in the USA.
Funeral Industry|Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy, Funeral Director Illinois and Virginia.
Your Funeral Guy i supports the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act.
Disclaimer- Your Funeral Guy is formerly a member of both the NFDA and the FCA but has no current affiliation with either organization.
Congressman Rush has displayed great courage in being the main sponsor of this legislation.
Congressman Bobby Rush did a good job summarizing National Cemetery Reform this week in a hearing in Congress. The reform comes in response to the horrific Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal that occurred in July 2009.
The Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act provides comprehensive National Cemetery Regulation for the first time in US History.
Here is part of the Congressman’s opening statement : At the hearing on the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009 “Planning for one’s own, or even a loved one’s death, is typically a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. It is often compounded by unpredictability.But just because death all too often comes like a thief in the night, bereaved consumers should not be left wondering who, in fact, was the real thief…death or the cemetery salesperson?
“On September 25, 2009, I introduced the “Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights.” Today, my Subcommittee is reviewing this draft bill at its first hearing of the new legislative session. To help us consider the measure, I am grateful to the accomplished panel of witnesses who have prepared testimony and saw fit to be here, today, to comment upon the merits and drawbacks of this important bill.
“Among H.R. 3655′s provisions, the bill would require the FTC to require ALL funeral goods and services providers, and not just “for profit” funeral homes, to do the following:
The Legislation was written in response to the Horriffic Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal outside Chicago
* provide consumers with accurate, itemized price information for each specific funeral good or service offered for sale;
* prohibit these providers from misrepresenting what federal, state, and local laws require in protecting consumers;
* include disclosures in pre-paid contracts regarding fees or penalties to be assessed for cancellation or transfer, by the purchaser, of burial, cremation, or entombment rights to different facilities, and * retain records of the date and location of each burial, cremation, and entombment as well as the corresponding rights of disposition (i.e., perpetual or term), and make those records available to federal, state, and local governments.
“In drafting this Bill of Rights, I have been earnest in respecting existing states’ laws. The bill would authorize both the FTC and the States Attorneys General, and other designated state entities, to enforce its requirements.-via www.house.gov
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral|Cemetery Blog By Your Funeral Guy
This is a light in a dark place, A National Funeral and Cemetery Consumers Bill of rights.
Illinois has a New Cemetery law that was crafted in Response to the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal outside of Chicago. Here are 5 provisions of the new law.
2009 Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal maybe the most horrific in US History
1.Cemetery owners, managers and customer service employees will have to be licensed,
2.Regulatory agency will conduct audits
3.Regulatory agency will issue fines of up to $10,000 for violations such as poor grounds upkeep or failing to keep burial maps.
4. There will be a State Wide Burial Database keeping track of every burial in the state. This will prevent desecration of graves and reburials.
5. There will be a place for consumers to file complaints. This is important in preventing abuse.
“Gov. Pat Quinn signed a measure into law Sunday that overhauls the way cemeteries are regulated in Illinois, a move brought about by the scandal at Burr Oak cemetery and one that officials say could ultimately shutter the troubled burial site.
State officials said the changes mark the first significant regulations imposed on an industry that has historically operated with little oversight. Employees at Burr Oak, near Alsip, were accused of digging up bodies and reselling plots for profit.”-via www.chicagotribune.com
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
This is the first time the cemetery industry has been regulated in the State of Illinois. The name of the New Law is the Cemetery Oversight Act.
This is good for the cemetery and funeral consumer in Illinois and provides an example for the rest of the nation.
The Chicago Sun Times has done an interesting story on a Service Corporation International Cemetery that in many ways is
The Chicago Sun Times has done a Scandal |Non Scandal Story on the World's Largest Funeral Corporation.
much to do about nothing. Yes there is the usual SCI Mismanagement. But it really has nothing to do with anything but the license on the wall.
In a Chicago Sun Times article entitled
“Making sure her brother rests in peace
After Burr Oak scandal, this sister is taking no chance”
the newspaper did a story on the Scandal Ridden “World’s largest funeral corporation” But other than a license not being updated on the wall. There is no story. Only a gravestone moved for a backhoe and then put back in place.
A customer found a license that was not updated, but it is not clear if it was a license to sell headstone or a full cemetery business license.
This all went down at Oak Woods Cemetery.
As is the case with Burr Oak, the company that runs Oak Woods Cemetery is from out of state.
The Houston-based Service Corporation International boasts of operating funeral homes and cemeteries all over North America.
Gonnigan isn’t impressed.
She noticed that the City of Chicago business license that was on display in the cemetery’s office on Monday had expired.
When I asked about the license, Jennifer Brandino, a spokeswoman for Service Corporation International, e-mailed this response:
“It was our understanding that our license is current, but we are currently investigating its status and are taking any appropriate measures to reinstate it if necessary.”
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