The gruesome discovery of 56 decomposing bodies at South Chicago Chapel in South Deering has raised concerns about the regulation of Illinois funeral homes. How did such neglect happen? And what’s being done about it?
What happened at South Chicago Chapel funeral home?
In August, Illinois authorities shut down South Chicago Chapel in South Deering after receiving a tip that owners Clark and Johanna Morgan were improperly storing bodies. Inside the funeral home, investigators found dozens of bodies in various stages of decomposition.
After the investigation, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended Johanna Morgan’s funeral director and embalmer’s license, and the agency is seeking to revoke it permanently.
The department found the funeral home, 2939 E. 95th St., was “a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare.” It alleged South Chicago Chapel let “multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions, including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies.”
Have South Chicago Chapel’s owners been in trouble before?
Yes. The August shutdown was the second time in two years authorities have responded to allegations of misconduct against Clark and Johanna Morgan.
In early 2025, the state shut down Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights, also operated by the Morgans, for mishandling the remains of about 100 people.
That prompted a new state law expanding the regulatory authority of the Illinois comptroller’s office, which, in a quirk of state responsibilities, oversees crematories in addition to its fiscal duties.
There were other red flags over the years involving the Morgans:
- Evergreen Park police found two bodies in the Morgans’ van on their residential block in 2024.
- The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended Clark Morgan’s funeral director and embalmer license in 2018 due to failure to file or pay state income taxes.
- In April 2024, the agency fined Clark Morgan $10,000 and revoked his license due to “unprofessional conduct” and practicing on an expired license.
- South Chicago Chapel had a history of failed building inspections. In addition, city building inspectors hadn’t done an annual inspection for the past four years.
- Property tax bills were also delinquent for the past two years, and the Illinois Department of Revenue issued four liens on the Morgans’ home from 2022 to 2026.
What happened at Bohemian National Cemetery?
In a separate case earlier this summer, investigators from the state comptroller’s office visited Bohemian National Cemetery in North Park after a July 21 tip. They found “multiple equipment failures and some human remains waiting to be cremated that were not maintained at the proper temperature,” according to a statement from the comptroller’s office.
By the end of July, the comptroller’s office had shut down Bohemian. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation was “made aware” that South Chicago Chapel used the crematorium so “proactively conducted an on-site visit” to the funeral home, the agency said in a statement to the Sun-Times.
In the wake of recent investigations at Bohemian and Heights Crematory, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said she was “thankful” a new state law taking effect Jan. 1 will allow her office to “summarily suspend a crematory license without a prior hearing and immediately inspect the premises and records in egregious cases.”
Sisters Franquella (left) and Marshawna Campbell stand with their mother’s urn outside the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in August. They went there to ask about the location of their mother’s remains. The two believe their mother’s remains are not in the urn, which contains a bag full of what they suspect are rocks, not ashes. The bag is labeled “Bohemian National Cemetery.” The two said they signed with Planet Green Cremations to handle their mother’s remains and do not know how South Chicago Chapel or Bohemian National Cemetery got involved in the process.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Who oversees Illinois’ funeral homes and crematories?
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation regulates funeral directors and embalmers. The department can conduct in-person inspections without receiving a tip, but it is a complaint-driven agency and does not conduct periodic inspections on all facilities, according to the department.
Apparently no state agency oversees funeral homes themselves, at their physical locations, officials said.
After the Chicago Heights Crematory case, Mendoza spearheaded legislation that gives the comptroller's office more investigative authority over crematories.
The bill authorizes the comptroller’s office to suspend a crematory license immediately in extreme cases and immediately do inspections after receiving a complaint, and it raises penalties to $10,000 per violation. The bill was signed into law this summer and takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois comptroller’s office have the authority to suspend and revoke licenses, impose fines and take other disciplinary measures. But according to that department, it doesn't have authority to bring criminal charges. Any suspected criminal activity would be investigated by law enforcement and charges would be brought by a state’s attorney.
Are changes coming to oversight of the death care industry?
In light of what happened at South Chicago Chapel, some legislators are talking about reforms. State Rep. Diane Blair-Sherlock, D-Villa Park, who co-sponsored the 2025 crematory legislation, said the state should consider putting funeral homes, crematories and licensing under a single authority. No bill has been proposed yet.
Gov. JB Pritzker has questioned who should investigate funeral homes but has said little else about what kind of legislative response should follow.
Have criminal charges been filed against South Chicago Chapel?
Criminal charges haven’t been filed yet in spite of demands from families and people affected.
Chicago police are still investigating what happened at South Chicago Chapel. In August, the Cook County medical examiner’s office was still working to identify all the deceased, as well as the cremated remains of at least 56 more people.
In August, comptroller spokesperson Kim Howard said the office “referred our findings and met with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and [Illinois State Police] in hopes of criminal charges being filed.”
Illinois State Police are still investigating the Chicago Heights crematory situation and are also assisting Chicago Police on the South Chicago Chapel investigation.
What lawsuits have been filed against South Chicago Chapel?
The city of Chicago is suing the owners of South Chicago Chapel for a litany of alleged building code violations, including the failure to keep buildings “clean, sanitary, and safe.” The city is asking a judge to issue a fine of $11,500 per day for every day the violations are not corrected.
The Morgans have been summoned to the first hearing of the Buildings Department’s lawsuit on Sept. 24 in Cook County Circuit Court.
In addition, a Texas woman launched a potential class-action lawsuit in August, alleging South Chicago Chapel mishandled the remains of her father along with dozens of other bodies.
Is the way Illinois regulates funeral homes unusual?
Yes. Illinois is one of four states — along with Alaska, Hawaii and Iowa — that does not conduct any inspections of licensed funeral homes, crematories or cemeteries, according to a 2025 survey from the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards.
A vast majority of other states carry out annual or biannual inspections of funeral homes and sometimes even unannounced visits.
Illinois also is the only state that does not have a board or agency monitoring licensed funeral homes at their physical locations.
Thirty-six states have separate funeral boards to manage director licenses, funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries. The other states, excluding Illinois, have appointed state agencies, such as public health departments, to the task.
Does the city of Chicago regulate funeral homes?
Not directly. If a funeral home sells products, such as caskets or flowers, they must obtain a business license issued by the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
South Chicago Chapel does not have a Chicago business license, said a spokesperson for that department.
