A judge Thursday ordered another inspection of the South Chicago Chapel, where 56 decomposing bodies were found last month in the South Deering neighborhood.
The funeral home operators, Clark and Johanna Morgan, were also barred by court order from using, renting or leasing the funeral home at 2939 E. 95th St.
Cook County Judge Federico Rodriguez made the decisions during a hearing at the Richard J. Daley Center after the city sued the Morgans over alleged building code violations at the now-shuttered South Deering business.
City attorneys said an inspection hasn’t been performed since the initial one, shortly after the gruesome discovery. During the new inspection of the building, which the city wants to happen on Oct. 23 and will be a check of the interior of the building, the Morgans must be there in person, Rodriguez said.
Additionally during Thursday’s hearing, the city’s Department of Buildings asked the judge to issue a fine of $11,500 per day for every day the violations are not corrected. The Morgans were not present at the hearing. But an attorney representing the couple said they did not object to the orders.
The state shut down South Chicago Chapel on Aug. 6 after receiving a tip that the Morgans were improperly storing bodies. Inside the funeral home, investigators found 56 bodies in various stages of decomposition.
Following the investigation, the IDFPR suspended Johanna Morgan’s funeral director and embalmer’s license. The agency is now seeking to permanently revoke her license.
Chicago police are also investigating what happened at South Chicago Chapel.
Sitting in the courtroom hoping the Morgans would show up was Marketa Krisitofek, a mother who has been searching for answers about what happened to her son’s remains since he died in a crash in November 2010.
Kristofek said the Morgans were responsible for her son’s remains when they operated Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights. Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza shut down the crematory last year for mishandling remains.
Kristofek filed more than 30 complaints about the Morgans with Mendoza’s office and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. But she said little came of them.
Now, Kristofek said she wants to understand how state agencies allowed the couple to continue handling human remains despite the numerous complaints.
“They [the Morgans] were able to leave one site and come to another and operate despite having a revoked license,” said Kristofek.