Discovery Of Unmarked Graves Halts Plan To Rebuild Oak Park Avenue
(CBS) -- The Chicago Department of Transportation is putting an indefinite hold on plans to rebuild Oak Park Avenue on the Northwest Side because city crews have discovered bodies buried beneath the pavement.
Oak Park Avenue cuts across one corner of the massive Cook County Cemetery, which accepted burials from 1890 until 1912. Many of them were residents of what was then the county poor house and later the Chicago State Hospital.
Some call it a forgotten cemetery, but it is no surprise to historian Barry Fleig who says if the city wants to save a lot of money, it should merely fence off the existing route and rebuild Oak Park Avenue slightly to the east.
"That would be the simplest and probably the cheapest solution," Fleig said. "If they remove the bodies, they've got an incredible amount of work to do and there are living relatives for that cemetery."
City officials will try to craft a plan to handle the remains and submit it to the state's historic preservation agency.