New garden in West Chicago will honor memory of Baby Hope
A garden that will provide food for people in need is being planted in West Chicago in memory of Baby Hope, the infant girl found dead earlier this year near Wheaton.
The DuPage County sheriff's office said it is working with Winfield Township Highway Commissioner John Dusza to create Hope's Garden on Winfield Township Road District property at 30W575 Roosevelt Road.
Criminal offenders in the Sheriff's Work Alternative Program will plant vegetables and maintain the garden. All produce grown there will be donated to local food pantries.
Work in the garden is scheduled to begin in spring.
"Although her life was short, Baby Hope made a significant impact on the DuPage County Sheriff's Office and the community as a whole," DuPage County Corrections Chief Shawana Davis said in a statement. "That's why Sheriff (John) Zaruba named this community-oriented project after her. Baby Hope will now touch even more lives through the creation of Hope's Garden."
Baby Hope was abandoned in a wooded, unincorporated area off Plamondon Road on Aug. 15. She was buried at St. Michael Cemetery, about a half-mile from where she was found, on Sept. 22.
A search for Baby Hope's parents is ongoing. In October, the sheriff's office released the results of a DNA analysis that offered images of what the parents, who are Latino, might look like.
The Illinois Crime Commission is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who provides information that helps identify or locate the parents.
Anyone with information is asked to call (630) 407-2400. All callers may remain anonymous.