Families, activists call for FBI investigation into South Side funeral home
Families, activists call for FBI investigation into South Side funeral home
Families and Chicago activists called for the FBI to lead the investigation after more than 50 improperly stored bodies were discovered at a South Side funeral home.
CHICAGO - Families and activists are calling for the FBI to lead the investigation after more than 50 improperly stored bodies were discovered at a South Side funeral home.
"This is the second time the South Shore Chapel has been connected to serious allegations involving the treatment of families who entrusted their loved ones to their care," said Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef. "Families turn to funeral homes during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and that trust must be protected."
The backstory:
Chicago police said officers responded to the funeral home at 2939 E. 95th St. Thursday to assist the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation with the investigation. While inside, investigators discovered human remains. Multiple sets of remains were later removed from the funeral home and transported to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
"This is the most heartbreaking thing to find, is that your loved one is sitting there decomposed, and maggots, and all the things that they were saying that was done, and these people going on with their life, living on a daily basis, not caring about the hurt and pain that they're inflicting on these families," said LaKashia Collins, mother of Isis Ogunti, who was killed in gun violence on Chicago's South Side in December 2025.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified 11 of the 56 remains recovered from South Chicago Chapel. Families of 10 of those people have been notified, and two of the remains have been released to funeral homes.
The medical examiner’s office said it continues to examine the remains while handling its regular caseload. The office is also working with local and state authorities to identify the remaining people.