Kane County coroner decries lack of backup

Kane County Board members said on Thursday they didn't want to move forward with improvements to the coroner's office until an emergency measure is put into place.

Officials have long said an emergency generator is needed for the freezer in the office.

When power goes out in Geneva, there is no backup at the Kane County office. The morgue has gone as long as a whole weekend without power with eight to 10 bodies in its freezer, said Coroner Chuck West.

County staff members brought a plan to renovate and add to the office to the county board's judicial and public safety committee Thursday that included emergency generators, showers and security.

Parts of that proposal have been up in the air because of uncertainty of where the county's 911 center will go once the current jail on Fabyan Parkway closes.

If that is moved to the Government Center as well, it will also need emergency generator capacity, said Tim Harbaugh, county director of environmental management. It would be cheaper and more efficient to wire those offices together, he said.

But committee members said they wanted to fast-track getting a generator at least for the office's freezer.

"You can't have the cooler power going out when there's bodies in it," said committee member Mark Davoust, a St. Charles Township Republican. "That's intolerable."

The issue will now go to the county board's executive committee.