Kane County Morgue Reopens After Being Shut Down For Months

(CBS) -- A suburban morgue is back in business after being shut down for months, reports WBBM's Cisco Cotto.

The building used by the Kane County Coroner in Geneva is a decades-old refurbished garage.

Kane County Coroner Rob Russell says it's been poorly maintained over the years so the roof leaked, the electrical was spotty, and employees use space heaters because windows are drafty.

Russell says the last straw came when he found mold in the cooler where bodies are stored. So in June he shut the morgue down and outsourced autopsies to DuPage County.

"We had the cooler and the freezer removed because of the depth of the mold was just to a point where they didn't think they would get it off," he said.

Now the morgue has been repaired, a new cooler is in place, and it's again open for business.

Russell says this is just a temporary fix. Within five years they're going to need a new facility.