City inspectors went inside the South Chicago Chapel funeral home. A judge hears what they found Oct. 29

Inspectors from four bureaus of the Chicago Department of Buildings went inside the South Chicago Chapel funeral home at 2939 E. 95th St. on Friday, Oct. 23, under a court order, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The department will present its findings in court on Oct. 29.

Police found 55 decomposing bodies in the building on Aug. 6, and it was shut down. Families and activists are calling for it to be demolished, citing health and safety hazards, according to the Sun-Times. The Buildings Department said it "recognizes the deep pain the families are experiencing."

Why it matters: the case has exposed gaps in who checks on funeral homes. For residents of the Southeast Side, it has also left an empty, damaged building on a commercial street while families wait for answers.

The background

The City sued the owners in August, alleging 23 building code violations, including no fire alarms or carbon monoxide detectors and renovation work without a permit, the Sun-Times reported. The City asked for $11,500 a day for each day the violations go uncorrected. The complaint did not ask for demolition, but said a judge should order it "if necessary." The Sun-Times reported that the Buildings Department had not inspected the property from 2022 to 2026. No criminal charges have been filed; police are investigating, according to Capitol News Illinois.

Records show City offices heard about problems nearly a year earlier. In September 2025, the office of Ald. Peter Chico (10th) filed a 311 complaint about open burning and reported residents' odor complaints, and a Department of Environment inspector closed the complaint after a short visit, Capitol News Illinois reported. Chico's office also asked the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection about the funeral home's license. The department replied that no City license was required unless the business sold retail goods such as caskets, according to the same report.

The state licenses funeral directors and embalmers, not funeral homes themselves, and inspects only on complaints, the report said. It cited a Sun-Times review finding Illinois is one of four states with no regular inspections of funeral homes or crematories.

Chico was at the site Friday but did not respond to the Sun-Times.

What our records add

Council members have questioned complaint-only inspections. At last year's budget hearing for Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) asked whether the code requires proactive inspections of licensed businesses within a set period (watch), and Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) asked whether the department could inspect proactively rather than waiting for neighbor complaints (watch). Those questions were about licensed businesses; the funeral home, by the department's account, did not need a license at all.

Buildings has said it is stretched. At last year's Buildings hearing, Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said the department's budget had stayed flat while new duties were added (watch), and Ald. David Moore (17th) asked how inspectors' structural findings are handled (watch).

No funeral home legislation is in our records. We found no ordinance or hearing call on funeral home oversight filed in the City Council this term. Changes discussed so far have been at the state level, WBEZ reported, where lawmakers have talked about consolidating oversight under one agency.

The ward. The building is in the 10th Ward. Chico is running again; as of Oct. 21 he was the only candidate on our 10th Ward race page.

What's next

• Oct. 27: the Department of Buildings goes before the Budget Committee in its 2027 budget hearing.
• Oct. 29: the Buildings Department presents its inspection findings in court, according to the Sun-Times. Any demolition would have to be ordered by the court.
• Nov. 4: Business Affairs and Consumer Protection's budget hearing, where members could ask about licensing.

Sources: Chicago Politics: 10th Ward race, 2027.