Former McHenry coroner accused of failing to bury 2nd baby
A McHenry County grand jury has indicted former Coroner Marlene Lantz on misconduct charges that accuse her of failing to bury a second dead baby during her tenure.
Lantz, 68, of McHenry, has been free on bail since she was charged in February of failing to bury a different baby who had died.
Lantz also is accused of falsifying the baby's death certificate in July 1996, saying the "Baby Reinert" was buried and the baby's mother was unknown.
Lantz's attorney, Mark Gummerson, did not immediately return a message Friday but has said the charges are "political payback" because Lantz was critical of State's Attorney Lou Bianchi, who faced his own set of misconduct charges that he eventually was found not guilty of in 2011.
Bianchi has not commented on the specifics of the case but said the charges are not about politics.
"It's all about justice," Bianchi said in February. "It's about a baby not having an appropriate burial and (Lantz) falsifying a death certificate."
The most recent charges accuse her of failing to bury, cremate or donate to science "Baby Angel Harris" sometime between November 1996 and Nov. 30, 2012, which was Lantz's last day in office before she retired.
She served as coroner from 1998 through 2012.
Lantz faces up to five years in prison if convicted, but probation also is possible. She is due in court again on Wednesday.