thatvoodoochick's blog: "Mindless Ramblings Of Me"

WE CONTINUE TO ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE AS WE ATTEMPT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SITUATION AT THE CEMETERY. THE CEMETERY WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE AS THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION PROCEEDS. WE ARE COMMITTED TO RE-OPENING THE CEMETERY TO THE PUBLIC AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. SINCE THURSDAY MORNING, THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS RECEIVED MORE THAN 53,000 CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLIC REGARDING BURR OAK CEMETERY. UNFORTUNATELY, THE CEMETERY RECORDS ARE IN COMPLETE DISARRAY AND THAT IS SLOWING DOWN THE PROCESS. WE HAVE FOUND PARTIALLY DESTROYED AND ALTERED RECORDS, AND MANY BURIAL DOCUMENTS ARE MISSING ALL TOGETHER. THIS HAS MADE IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING GRAVESITE LOCATION. WE HOPE IT WILL BECOME POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE MORE DETAILED ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE COMING DAYS. OUR HOTLINE NUMBER HAS BEEN OVERWHELMED BY CALLS, IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE GETTING THROUGH TO OUR PHONE CENTER, PLEASE CALL BACK AT A LATER TIME. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY MADE A COMPLAINT OR INQUIRY TO THE HOTLINE, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE REPEATED CALLS UNLESS YOU HAVE NEW INFORMATION. PROCESSING REPEATED CALLS WILL ONLY SLOW DOWN OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND TO YOUR ORGINAL INQUIRY. AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND PATIENCE DURING THIS DIFFICULT PROCESS. WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ADDITIONAL UPDATES AS SOON AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE. Beginning Monday July 13, the Cook County Sheriff's Department will not be able to accept any information seeking information on burial plots in person and will only be able to collect information over the phone or by email. To date, our office has received more than 7,000 written requests for assistance. In an effort to begin matching those requests with the records we've been able to find at the office, we are shifting all staff to the records process. If you have family or a loved one buried at Burr Oak Cemetery, please email your information to: burroakcemeteryinvestigation@gmail.com or call our designated hotline at: 800-942-1950 or (708) 865-6070. All inquiries regarding the Burr Oak Cemetery Investigation will receive a personal response, but we ask for your patience, as the requests have been overwhelming. Thank you.