South Side funeral home's license suspended over decomposing bodies and "deplorable conditions"

An investigation was underway Thursday evening at a Far South Side funeral home, after its funeral director's license was suspended when state regulators found decomposing bodies were being kept in "deplorable conditions," including rodent and maggot infestations.

Chicago police were seen going in and out of South Chicago Chapel, at the corner of 95th Street and Exchange Avenue, on Thursday evening.

According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation records, the state suspended the license of funeral director Johanna Morgan, due to a finding that the facility's "continued practice is a danger to the public safety, interest and welfare."

Records show Morgan had been "allowing multiple decedents to be kept in an unrefrigerated area with deplorable conditions including rodent infestation, causing decomposition and maggot infestation of the bodies."

Morgan was funeral director at South Chicago Chapel as late as May of 2025, but it's unclear from current records if she was still funeral director there as of Thursday.

A Chicago Police Department spokesperson referred questions to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.