Burr Oak Cemetery turned over to trustee
A South suburban cemetery at the center of a desecration scandal has been turned over to a trustee.
A federal bankruptcy judge approved the plan to transfer Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip over to Chicago attorney Patricia Holmes on Tuesday.
Holmes led the governor’s cemetery oversight task force.
Four former employees of the historic black cemetery are accused of stacking bodies and digging up remains in a moneymaking scheme uncovered in 2009. They’ve pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
The cemetery’s owner, Perpetua, filed for bankruptcy reorganization after the allegations came to light.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that under the trustee plan, anyone who can prove they have a relative buried at Burr Oak will get $100.
Holmes has $2.6 million from an insurance settlement to operate the cemetery.