Public Act 100-0526
 
HB3488 EnrolledLRB100 07814 MJP 17881 b

    AN ACT concerning health.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Disposition of Remains of the Indigent Act.
 
    Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly recognizes:
        (1) that each individual in the State regardless of his
    or her economic situation is entitled to a dignified
    disposition of his or her remains;
        (2) that it is a matter of public concern and interest
    that the preparation, care, and final disposition of a
    deceased human body be attended to with appropriate
    observance and understanding;
        (3) that it is a matter of public concern and interest
    that there is a due regard and respect for the reverent
    care of the human body, for those bereaved, and the overall
    spiritual dignity of every person;
        (4) that the provision of cadavers and other human
    materials is a much-needed service for the advancement of
    medical, mortuary, and other sciences;
        (5) that there is a critical shortage of cadavers
    necessary for the advancement of medical, mortuary, and
    other sciences;
        (6) that the State has, in the past, paid for the
    burial and funeral of indigent individuals;
        (7) that payment for such services is not now
    consistent with the needs or demands of the current State
    budget;
        (8) that the State has had a long-standing policy that
    government officials who have custody of a body of any
    deceased person shall transfer such custody to any State
    medical college, school, or other institution of higher
    science education or school of mortuary science for
    advancement of medical, anatomical, biological, or
    mortuary science; and
        (9) that current law provides that any county coroner
    may donate bodies not claimed by family members or friends.
 
    Section 7. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
    "Qualified medical science institution" means an
institution of medical, mortuary, or other sciences meeting the
requirements of Section 25 of this Act.
    "State facility" means any facility, hospital,
institution, morgue, or other place for bodies of deceased
persons owned or operated by the State of Illinois, other than
a qualified medical science institution.
 
    Section 10. Indigent funeral and burial.
    (a) If private funds are not available to pay funeral and
burial costs and a request is made for those costs to an
official of State or local government by an appropriate family
member, executor, or agent empowered to direct the disposition
of the decedent's remains, the official shall inform the
appropriate family member, executor, or agent empowered to
direct the disposition of the decedent's remains of the option
to donate the remains for use in the advancement of medical
science subject to any written directive of a will or other
written instrument identified in Section 65 of the Crematory
Regulation Act or in subsection (a) of Section 40 of the
Disposition of Remains Act.
    (b) The appropriate family member, executor, or agent
empowered to direct the disposition of the decedent's remains
is responsible for authorizing the use of such remains in
accordance with the process of the specific qualified medical
science institution.
    (c) If funds are not otherwise available for burial or the
cadaver has not been claimed by a family member or other
responsible person, the coroner with custody may donate the
cadaver for medical science purposes pursuant to Section 3-3034
of the Counties Code.
 
    Section 15. Donation of unclaimed cadavers in the custody
of the State.
    (a) The director of any State facility in custody of a
cadaver shall make reasonable efforts to contact a family
member or other person responsible for the disposition of the
remains for the purpose of claiming the remains.
    (b) If a family member or other person responsible for the
disposition of the remains requests the remains, the person
must remove or make arrangements to remove the remains within
72 hours of notice from the facility.
    (c) If, after making reasonable efforts to contact a family
member or other person responsible for the disposition of the
remains, the cadaver is unclaimed or if a person claiming the
remains has failed to remove or make arrangements to remove the
cadaver within 72 hours of notice from the facility, the State
facility director shall contribute the cadaver to a qualified
medical science institution for use in the advancement of
medical science as designated by the Department under Section
30 of this Act unless it is necessary to preserve the body for
law enforcement purposes or the decedent has left written
instructions that he or she does not wish to be cremated or
donated for medical science.
    (d) The State facility director shall as soon as is
practicable after the end of the 72-hour notice period:
        (1) verify, if known, or make good faith efforts to
    discover, if not known, identifying information regarding
    the decedent, including ethnicity, religious affiliation,
    and former associations;
        (2) after such verification or discovery, provide to
    the Department all information in its possession relating
    to the decedent;
        (3) preserve all information submitted to the
    Department along with information on how the State facility
    obtained or attempted to obtain information regarding the
    decedent, including persons contacted, time of contact,
    name of contact, and documents reviewed.
    (e) If a cadaver is contributed to a qualified medical
science institution under this Section, the State facility
director shall provide to the institution the name, address,
e-mail address, and telephone number of the family member or
other responsible party, if known.
    (f) A qualified medical science institution receiving a
cadaver pursuant to this Section is responsible for all costs
related to the contribution, including transportation of the
remains.
 
    Section 20. Institution of medical, mortuary, or other
sciences.
    (a) A qualified medical science institution receiving a
cadaver pursuant to Section 15 of this Act shall:
        (1) hold the cadaver at its facility for 30 days after
    receipt from the State facility; and
        (2) ensure during the 30-day period that the cadaver is
    not used for any purpose other than for embalming.
    (b) After use of the remains, the qualified medical science
institution shall cremate them pursuant to Section 19 of the
Crematory Regulation Act and deliver them to the appropriate
family member, executor, or agent empowered to direct the
disposition of the decedent's cremated human remains. If no
such person is available or if such person is unwilling to
accept the remains, the qualified medical science institution
shall inter the cremated human remains at a cemetery licensed
under the Cemetery Oversight Act. Upon such interment, the
institution shall notify the family member, executor, or agent
empowered to direct the disposition of the decedent's remains,
if known, by mail of the location of the remains. The
institution shall maintain at all times a registry of such
interred cremated human remains.
    (c) A qualified medical science institution is considered
an authorizing agent under the Crematory Regulation Act only
for the purpose of ordering the cremation and delivering or
interring the remains following cremation as provided in this
Section.
    (d) If at any time an appropriate family member, executor,
or agent empowered to direct the disposition of the decedent's
remains makes a written request concerning disposition or
return of the remains, the qualified medical science
institution shall, at its own expense, return the remains
within a reasonable time.
    (e) A qualified medical science institution receiving a
cadaver under Section 15 of this Act may not transfer a
decedent's remains in a manner not authorized by this Act.
 
    Section 25. Registry of contributed cadavers and
institutions of medical, mortuary, or other sciences.
    (a) An institution of medical, mortuary, or other sciences
is eligible to receive a contributed cadaver under Section 15
of this Act if it meets the qualifications determined to be
appropriate by the Department by rule and registers with the
Department. Under no circumstances is the harvesting and sale
of body parts allowed, including after any medical, mortuary,
or other sciences research has concluded. Qualified medical
science institutions, at a minimum, must be either:
        (1) a medical college or school, or other institution
    of higher science education or school of mortuary science,
    public or private;
        (2) a hospital; or
        (3) a not-for-profit corporation under Section
    501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code registered under the
    Charitable Trust Act.
    (b) The Department shall maintain a registry of:
        (1) cadavers that have been contributed to qualified
    medical science institutions of Section 15; and
        (2) institutions qualifying as institutions of
    medical, mortuary, or other sciences eligible to receive
    donations under this Act.
    The Department shall update the registry with any new
information within 24 hours of receiving the information.
    (c) Each qualified medical science institution shall
submit its request for cadavers in State custody. The
Department shall designate the next institution to receive a
cadaver when requested by a State facility.
    (d) If the number of cadavers is insufficient for the use
of the relevant institutions, the Department shall determine
which institution shall receive them, taking into account the
relative proportion of the numbers of students at each
institution.
 
    Section 30. Rules. The Department may adopt rules as
necessary to implement this Act.
 
    Section 35. Repealer. This Act is repealed on December 31,
2022.
 
    Section 90. The Crematory Regulation Act is amended by
changing Section 5 as follows:
 
    (410 ILCS 18/5)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
    Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Address of record" means the designated address recorded
by the Comptroller in the applicant's or licensee's application
file or license file. It is the duty of the applicant or
licensee to inform the Comptroller of any change of address
within 14 days, and such changes must be made either through
the Comptroller's website or by contacting the Comptroller. The
address of record shall be the permanent street address of the
crematory.
    "Alternative container" means a receptacle, other than a
casket, in which human remains are transported to the crematory
and placed in the cremation chamber for cremation. An
alternative container shall be (i) composed of readily
combustible or consumable materials suitable for cremation,
(ii) able to be closed in order to provide a complete covering
for the human remains, (iii) resistant to leakage or spillage,
(iv) rigid enough for handling with ease, and (v) able to
provide protection for the health, safety, and personal
integrity of crematory personnel.
    "Authorizing agent" means a person legally entitled to
order the cremation and final disposition of specific human
remains. "Authorizing agent" includes an institution of
medical, mortuary, or other sciences as provided in Section 20
of the Disposition of Remains of the Indigent Act.
    "Body parts" means limbs or other portions of the anatomy
that are removed from a person or human remains for medical
purposes during treatment, surgery, biopsy, autopsy, or
medical research; or human bodies or any portion of bodies that
have been donated to science for medical research purposes.
    "Burial transit permit" means a permit for disposition of a
dead human body as required by Illinois law.
    "Casket" means a rigid container that is designed for the
encasement of human remains, is usually constructed of wood,
metal, or like material and ornamented and lined with fabric,
and may or may not be combustible.
    "Comptroller" means the Comptroller of the State of
Illinois.
    "Cremated remains" means all human remains recovered after
the completion of the cremation, which may possibly include the
residue of any foreign matter including casket material,
bridgework, or eyeglasses, that was cremated with the human
remains.
    "Cremation" means the technical process, using heat and
flame, or alkaline hydrolysis that reduces human remains to
bone fragments. The reduction takes place through heat and
evaporation or through hydrolysis. Cremation shall include the
processing, and may include the pulverization, of the bone
fragments.
    "Cremation chamber" means the enclosed space within which
the cremation takes place.
    "Cremation interment container" means a rigid outer
container that, subject to a cemetery's rules and regulations,
is composed of concrete, steel, fiberglass, or some similar
material in which an urn is placed prior to being interred in
the ground, and which is designed to withstand prolonged
exposure to the elements and to support the earth above the
urn.
    "Cremation room" means the room in which the cremation
chamber is located.
    "Crematory" means the building or portion of a building
that houses the cremation room and the holding facility.
    "Crematory authority" means the legal entity which is
licensed by the Comptroller to operate a crematory and to
perform cremations.
    "Final disposition" means the burial, cremation, or other
disposition of a dead human body or parts of a dead human body.
    "Funeral director" means a person known by the title of
"funeral director", "funeral director and embalmer", or other
similar words or titles, licensed by the State to practice
funeral directing or funeral directing and embalming.
    "Funeral establishment" means a building or separate
portion of a building having a specific street address and
location and devoted to activities relating to the shelter,
care, custody, and preparation of a deceased human body and may
contain facilities for funeral or wake services.
    "Holding facility" means an area that (i) is designated for
the retention of human remains prior to cremation, (ii)
complies with all applicable public health law, (iii) preserves
the health and safety of the crematory authority personnel, and
(iv) is secure from access by anyone other than authorized
persons. A holding facility may be located in a cremation room.
    "Human remains" means the body of a deceased person,
including any form of body prosthesis that has been permanently
attached or implanted in the body.
    "Licensee" means an entity licensed under this Act. An
entity that holds itself as a licensee or that is accused of
unlicensed practice is considered a licensee for purposes of
enforcement, investigation, hearings, and the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act.
    "Niche" means a compartment or cubicle for the
memorialization and permanent placement of an urn containing
cremated remains.
    "Person" means any person, partnership, association,
corporation, limited liability company, or other entity, and in
the case of any such business organization, its officers,
partners, members, or shareholders possessing 25% or more of
ownership of the entity.
    "Processing" means the reduction of identifiable bone
fragments after the completion of the cremation process to
unidentifiable bone fragments by manual or mechanical means.
    "Pulverization" means the reduction of identifiable bone
fragments after the completion of the cremation process to
granulated particles by manual or mechanical means.
    "Scattering area" means an area which may be designated by
a cemetery and located on dedicated cemetery property where
cremated remains, which have been removed from their container,
can be mixed with, or placed on top of, the soil or ground
cover.
    "Temporary container" means a receptacle for cremated
remains, usually composed of cardboard, plastic or similar
material, that can be closed in a manner that prevents the
leakage or spillage of the cremated remains or the entrance of
foreign material, and is a single container of sufficient size
to hold the cremated remains until an urn is acquired or the
cremated remains are scattered.
    "Urn" means a receptacle designed to encase the cremated
remains.
(Source: P.A. 96-863, eff. 3-1-12; 97-679, eff. 2-6-12.)
 
    Section 95. The Disposition of Remains Act is amended by
changing Section 5 as follows:
 
    (755 ILCS 65/5)
    Sec. 5. Right to control disposition; priority. Unless a
decedent has left directions in writing for the disposition or
designated an agent to direct the disposition of the decedent's
remains as provided in Section 65 of the Crematory Regulation
Act or in subsection (a) of Section 40 of this Act, the
following persons, in the priority listed, have the right to
control the disposition, including cremation, of the
decedent's remains and are liable for the reasonable costs of
the disposition:
        (1) the person designated in a written instrument that
    satisfies the provisions of Sections 10 and 15 of this Act;
        (2) any person serving as executor or legal
    representative of the decedent's estate and acting
    according to the decedent's written instructions contained
    in the decedent's will;
        (3) the individual who was the spouse of the decedent
    at the time of the decedent's death;
        (4) the sole surviving competent adult child of the
    decedent, or if there is more than one surviving competent
    adult child of the decedent, the majority of the surviving
    competent adult children; however, less than one-half of
    the surviving adult children shall be vested with the
    rights and duties of this Section if they have used
    reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent
    adult children of their instructions and are not aware of
    any opposition to those instructions on the part of more
    than one-half of all surviving competent adult children;
        (5) the surviving competent parents of the decedent; if
    one of the surviving competent parents is absent, the
    remaining competent parent shall be vested with the rights
    and duties of this Act after reasonable efforts have been
    unsuccessful in locating the absent surviving competent
    parent;
        (6) the surviving competent adult person or persons
    respectively in the next degrees of kindred or, if there is
    more than one surviving competent adult person of the same
    degree of kindred, the majority of those persons; less than
    the majority of surviving competent adult persons of the
    same degree of kindred shall be vested with the rights and
    duties of this Act if those persons have used reasonable
    efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult
    persons of the same degree of kindred of their instructions
    and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions
    on the part of one-half or more of all surviving competent
    adult persons of the same degree of kindred;
        (6.5) any recognized religious, civic, community, or
    fraternal organization willing to assume legal and
    financial responsibility;
        (7) in the case of indigents or any other individuals
    whose final disposition is the responsibility of the State
    or any of its instrumentalities, a public administrator,
    medical examiner, coroner, State appointed guardian, or
    any other public official charged with arranging the final
    disposition of the decedent;
        (8) in the case of individuals who have donated their
    bodies to science, or whose death occurred in a nursing
    home or other private institution, who have executed
    cremation authorization forms under Section 65 of the
    Crematory Regulation Act and the institution is charged
    with making arrangements for the final disposition of the
    decedent, a representative of the institution; or
        (9) any other person or organization that is willing to
    assume legal and financial responsibility.
    As used in Section, "adult" means any individual who has
reached his or her eighteenth birthday.
    Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary, in the case of
decedents who die while serving as members of the United States
Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard, or the United States
Reserve Forces, as defined in Section 1481 of Title 10 of the
United States Code, and who have executed the required U.S.
Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data Form (DD Form
93), or successor form, the person designated in such form to
direct disposition of the decedent's remains shall have the
right to control the disposition, including cremation, of the
decedent's remains.
(Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)