Unclaimed bodies a problem in Kane County

By James Fuller

Kane County officials say a dramatic increase in the number of unclaimed bodies in their morgue may be due to tough economic times.

No one is claiming five or six bodies a week, Kane County Coroner Charles West said Thursday, speculating that a sluggish economy leaves next of kin without enough money to pay for funeral and burial services.

"People all of a sudden realize that the wake of their loved one is going to cost thousands and thousands of dollars, and so they walk away from it," West said.

The problem with unclaimed bodies is not a new phenomenon. West said even before the economy slowed his office would handle five or six unclaimed bodies in a month.

But both the increase in unclaimed bodies and the sheer number West is dealing with is unusual for the suburbs.

Lake County tallies about six unclaimed bodies a year. DuPage County Coroner Pete Siekmann said his office sees maybe four unclaimed bodies all year long.

"That number is a bit higher than it's been in recent years," Siekmann said. "We're recognizing we have a pending problem."

Siekmann said just this week he made contact with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish a relationship for when DuPage must handle the rare case of an unclaimed body with no financial resources.

Coroners in the area said what happens to unclaimed bodies depends on how much money can be located for a burial.

First they determine if the person was an honorably-discharged military veteran. If so, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs department pays for burial in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

If the individual was not a military veteran, then the coroner's office tries to secure Public Aid funds to cover the burial. If no public aid or accepting funeral home, then some coroners have the body cremated. The coroner's office keeps the ashes until a relative picks them up.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office follows a similar process, said Executive Director David Foley. The main difference is Cook County stores intact bodies for about 90 days before turning them over to a funeral home for burial. Foley wouldn't speculate about how many unclaimed bodies the county currently has or handles in a year, but said there are quite a few.

"In any big city you're going to have unclaimed bodies," Foley said.

Kane County's population boom may help explain the increase in unclaimed bodies. Socioeconomics may also be a factor.

Siekmann said he suspected the rarity of unclaimed bodies in DuPage is because of the county's relative affluence.

"We're a good, family-oriented place to live," Siekmann said. "Most people who do live here have family of some sorts around."

In Kane, West said there are four new, but still unclaimed, bodies at his office right now. And the remains of 30 to 40 people are stored in urns across from his office. Some of those remains have been around for many years, West said.

Every now and then, an investigation into next of kin will yield a surprise.

Several years ago, West investigated the death of a man who died from natural causes in a two-bedroom flophouse with newspapers covering the windows. In a paper sack on a dresser, the man had two checkbooks and a Christmas card. The checkbooks showed one account with a balance of $40,000. The other account had about $70,000. For whatever reason, the man just chose to live in poverty.

West tracked the Christmas card back to a woman who lived in Michigan. She knew the man's family well enough to know both of his parents were dead, and he had no siblings. She'd actually never met the dead man in person, just had him included as part of her Christmas card list because she felt sorry for him. With her help, and as he sought access to funds to pay for the burial, West found another surprise.

"There were several investments this guy had made that were worth about $2.5 million," West said.

Needless to say, there was plenty of money for a full burial, but that was a rare instance. The norm is just the opposite. Cremation for unclaimed bodies actually costs the coroner's office between $600 and $1,600 for each body.

West told a committee of Kane County Board members Thursday there is more to the problem of providing a dignified end for the bodies, or even storing ashes. There is no actual line item in the coroner's budget that funds the handling of unclaimed bodies. West advised that may be an issue the Kane County Board will have to take a look at in the near future.