ICFHA worked hard with all involved Quinn administration officials, legislators and legislative staff in an effort to produce a strong but workable law. Those efforts were greatly successful in removing many of the most onerous provisions of earlier drafts, and in making the final bill far less problematic.

In the end, however, ICFHA determined that the final legislation still contained unduly onerous provisions, and that it would not be in the best interests of Illinois consumers.  ICFHA therefore formally opposed the legislation.

ICFHA is now focused on working to assist in the implementation of this new law, and in the transition of the Illinois cemetery industry under this new law.  ICFHA will seek to safeguard against rulemaking that imposes unreasonable and unnecessary financial and operational burdens.

As repeatedly observed by virtually every involved governmental official, the Illinois cemetery industry is comprised of a great many dedicated individuals who faithfully serve families each and every day. Ours is an industry comprised mostly of financially modest operations. ICFHA will work vigilantly with Illinois state government to help it strike a regulatory balance that does not unduly burden our cemeteries, and force perfectly fine cemeteries into abandonment.

The New Law:
The Cemetery Oversight Act (P.A. 96-863) is a 213-page document that was signed into law on January 18, 2010. This new law makes more than 60 separate references to rulemaking for the administration and implementation of this Act -- meaning that a lot of details (like the licensing fee amount and required insurance levels) must still be developed. Here is a concise, but not exhaustive, summary of the new Cemetery Oversight Act.

Here is a chart that summarizes the various provisions of the new law.

ICFHA Condemns Burr Oak Crimes
From the onset of the horrific revelations at Burr Oak, the ICFHA publicly denounced those events.

How to Choose a Cemetery
There are thousands of cemeteries in Illinois. Most of them have operated for generations and some of them for centuries. Nothing like the events at Burr Oak has ever happened in Illinois before. If you have a loved one in an Illinois cemetery other than Burr Oak, you can be assured that the cemetery must maintain a record of that loved one’s location.

This guide offers tips on how to evaluate a cemetery, and how to choose a cemetery with confidence.