In a scandal reminiscent of the Burr Oak Cemetery and the Tri-State Crematory of Georgia, a scandal has hit the Cook County morgue.
As the Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier, “bodies are piling up… stacked atop each other in blue plastic tarps against a wall of the storage cooler.”
In the aftermath, the Cook County Board of Commissioners is moving to change the way the Medical Examiner, Dr. Nancy Jones serves. Jones, it was learned, has what amounts to an appointment for life.
According to the language submitted by Commissioners John Fritchey and Jeff Tobolski, “The Medical Examiner, once approved by the Board, shall serve at the direction of the President and may be removed at the request of the President, subject to a vote of a majority of the members of the Cook County Board.”
Tobolski issued a statement saying, “for a family to have their loved one’s remians shuffled around at this Morgue like they’re a returned sweater without a tag is wholly unacceptable. There are no more excuses, just incompetence run amok.”
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While public outrage has given politicians a mandate to act, the idea was met with some skepticism. Republican Commissioner Tim Schneider (15th District) asked rhetorically, “Why was the medical examiner’s term lifetime? Was it to avoid politics? Probably!”
Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman worried that Dr. Jones was being put out to take the fall for a much bigger problem. Fritchey hoped to have the ordinance voted on by the full board today, but instead the rest of the board only approved moving it to committee.
The legislation now heads to the Finance Committee chaired by Cook County Commissioner John Daley. Dr. Jones will be one of those called to testify when the Finance Committee has its hearing.
Related posts:
- Fritchey named to joint city-county board
- Fritchey wants to end Recorder of Deeds job
- County Board considers and rejects ban on tweeting
- Accusations Traded Back and Forth on Controversial Ordinance
