CHICAGO — Larry Burns had been planning a wedding reception last May in Mississippi and was looking forward to his mother coming from her home in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
A smart, fashionable woman who could make a mean taco salad, Herrsterstine Burns, 57, was the rock of the family, whether it was helping a loved one get clothes or co-signing a loan, her family recalled.
But in the early morning hours of April 4 last year, a fire broke out in Burns’ apartment. She was taken to the hospital with severe burns and ravaged lungs.
