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Last updated 6:38 am CT February 09, 2010.
Public Aid Funerals Will Go Unfunded in New Budget Year
Saying good-bye to a loved one doesn't just take an emotional toll, there are monetary costs as well.
As of Tuesday the state will still help qualifying individuals with funeral and burial costs. Wednesay that will stop.
Fiscal Year 2010 begins July 1 and there is no money in the Illinois budget for indigent funerals.
"Funeral homes lose money on every public aid funeral they have," said Mike Weirauch, owner and funeral director at JM Weirauch Funeral Home in Harrisburg.
As the new fiscal year begins funeral home owners stand to lose even more.
Now the state reimburses funeral directors up to $1,655 dollars on public aid funerals. That covers a modest service and burial.
Funeral directors like Weirauch and Randy Reed, owner and funeral director at Reed Funeral Home in Harrisburg, say they don't plan to turn grieving families away.
Still, "We're a business just like anything else and we can't afford to give these things away," Reed said.
Williamson County Coronor Mike Burke predicts that without the public aid, instead of going to funeral homes, bodies will fill up morgues, ultimately costing taxpayers money.
Reed, who is also the coroner, doesn't see that happening in Saline County but admits if it did he'd be forced to take action.
"If no one accepts responsibility then I would have to step in and say: 'OK, the body has to be buried or cremated or something because of health hazards.'"
Weirauch and Reed predict that while they may not be able to afford all the frills, together loved ones and funeral directors will find a solution for families struggling to pay for burial costs.
"Families usually have an uncanny way of being able to come up with money when they're in a position where they forced to," Weirauch said.
A Williamson County funeral director who asked to remain anonymous was not as optimistic, saying he would not accept a body if he knew the family couldn't pay for services.
By Dana Jay
djay@wsiltv.com
Now: 1265719778
