WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderBurials resume at Ill. cemetery after plot scandal

Burials resume at Ill. cemetery after plot scandal

Associated Press - November 13, 2009 7:54 PM ET

ALSIP, Ill. (AP) - Burials have quietly resumed at a historic black cemetery in suburban Chicago.

Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip is where former workers allegedly dug up hundreds of graves in a scheme to resell plots for money.

Authorities overseeing the cemetery say more than 20 burials have taken place since October, although the facility remains closed to the general public while workers repair the grounds.

Court-appointed administrator Howard Korenthal says the burials are a step to the ultimate future opening of the cemetery. He says he hoped Burr Oak, which remains under bankruptcy protection, could open to visitors later this year.

Authorities shut down the cemetery in July and charged four workers with double-stacking some remains or simply tossing others in an alleged moneymaking scheme that stretched back at least five years.

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