Chicago funeral home where dozens of decomposing bodies were found was last inspected in October

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said that it inspected a Chicago funeral home after a suburban crematorium owned by the same family was shut down last year. But the last inspection was in October, 10 months before dozens of decomposing bodies were found at the South Chicago Chapel funeral home.

Clark Morgan's crematory in Chicago Heights was shut down in 2025, but his wife, Johanna Morgan, continued running South Chicago Chapel funeral home in Chicago's South Deering neighborhood, where more than 50 decomposing bodies were found earlier this month.

Because Illinois crematories are regulated by the Illinois State Comptroller's office and funeral homes fall under the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, no single agency was tracking both businesses or the family that ran them.

On Monday, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a lengthy timeline from their perspective.

The agency said they visited South Chicago Chapel in March 2025, the same month the Morgan family's  Heights Crematory in Chicago Heights was shut down by the comptroller's office.

IDFPR officials said they inspected the funeral home again on Oct. 7, 2025, and found "no serious concerns pertaining to the handling or storing of remains" on that date.

Three days later, on Oct. 10, 2025, the agency filed formal disciplinary charges against Johanna Morgan, but would not explain why.

IDFPR said it is "unable to comment further as it is seeking permanent license revocation."

Gov. JB Pritzker said IDFPR and the Comptroller's office both followed state law in this case.

"I understand the desire to try to find someone to blame here," he said. "I think the question we all would be asking now is should there be changes in the law? Are the other ways that we should be handling this if you want to have investigation bodies from the state do it."

Pritzker said he would like to see how the state could change the law to make it work better.

CBS News Chicago has been asking IDFPR for an on-camera interview to talk about this case since August 7. Officials said that request is still pending.

The Comptroller's office agreed to an interview about this case on the same day CBS News Chicago asked for it earlier this month.

As of Monday, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has positively identified 43 of the 56 remains found piled up in the funeral home.