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Premature baby found in trash bin near Yorktown

A teenager is believed to have delivered a four-month premature baby that was left in a trash bin near Yorktown Shopping Center in Lombard, a source said.

A law enforcement source said the infant was roughly four months premature. An autopsy didn’t immediately conclude whether the infant died before or after delivery, according to the source. The DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office, revealing the discovery for the first time Tuesday, stated that a fetus was found on Saturday.

It’s believed the teen delivered the baby in Glendale Heights, authorities said. It was not clear if she will face criminal charges.

State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said Lombard and Glendale Heights police were investigating along with his office. He declined to release additional details because of the ongoing probe.

Lombard police didn’t return calls seeking additional information. Glendale Heights police and the coroner’s office referred questions to the state’s attorney’s office.

Illinois’ Safe Haven Law allows parents to drop off newborns within 30 days at hospitals, fire stations, police stations and campus police stations with no questions asked. Authorities contact the state Department of Children and Family Services, which in turn reaches out to adoption agencies.

Since the law was enacted in 2001, 75 babies have been legally relinquished, 67 have been illegally abandoned, and of that number, 33 were dead, according to Dawn Geras, president of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, which lobbied to get the law passed.

A 2006 amendment to the law added the requirement that health classes in schools include information about the Safe Haven Law.

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