An abandoned cemetery in Morton Grove has sparked a development controversy over the propriety of moving decades-old graves.
The Jewish cemetery, founded about 1870 on Waukegan Road south of Dempster Street, was the final resting place for members of the defunct Keheleth Jacob Anshe Drohiczen congregation, whose synagogue was on Chicago’s West Side. The last burial took place in 1937, and the cemetery has long since been neglected.
A Jewish group has said that moving graves would be sacrilege.
Chicago-based Devco Realty & Equity Co. acquired the land, now known as Orchard Park Cemetery, for taxes owed to Cook County. The company has prepared preliminary drawings for an extended-care center it intends to construct on the site, according to village officials.
The company is seeking approval to move the graves to an adjacent cemetery. The Village Board was scheduled to take up the matter Monday night but voted to postpone a decision until at least July 13. “If there’s a chance there are graves located there, we must handle this with as much respect as possible,” said Trustee Teresa Liston.
A Jewish group opposes the project. “It appears to us it is a possible desecration of graves,” said Scott Meyer of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. “One is not permitted by Jewish law to re-inter graves merely for economic gain.
“We’re talking about real people in real graves,” Meyer said. “The desecration of graves is such an abominable thought.”
Although the builder told village officials three graves were found at the site by a Devco executive using a metal detector, the genealogical society said more than 200 graves may be there. According to the society, Orthodox Jews of the congregation’s era were buried in shrouds rather than coffins.
Society officials also cite Illinois law, which they say requires good cause, such as public health and safety, as a reason for grave removal. The society said the cemetery is no threat to the public.
Morton Grove consulted Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz of the Chicago Rabbinical Council on the issue. Schwartz initially said that under the right circumstances, the graves could be moved, but in a letter to village trustees made public Monday night, he requested they postpone their decision by 30 days.
In an interview before his letter was made public, Schwartz said the remains could be respectfully moved to a safe place if they were kept together but not dumped into a mass grave. He also said there should be a day of mourning for any remaining relatives.
According to village officials, the developer has said reburial would take place after proper rites were observed.
