Will County To Get A Much Needed New Morgue

WILL COUNTY, IL — Will County is about to get a new morgue after the Will County Board Capital Improvements Committee took the first formal step Tuesday to begin construction of a new county morgue by approving the framework of the process to bid out the design and building of this critical facility.

"County Board members have seen firsthand the need for a new morgue and are working together to address this issue," said County Board Speaker Mimi Cowan in a release. "Will County is a growing county that must continue to be aggressive in planning for our future growth and I believe this project has bipartisan support to move forward."

The current county morgue is located at the County’s Caton-Farm Road facility where the Coroner, Division of Transportation, and Sheriff’s Department share space within the facilities located there. The need for a new morgue has been a high priority for newly-elected Coroner Laurie Summers who expressed appreciation for the progress on this project.

"I am grateful that the County Board leadership and members of the Capital Improvements Committee who recognize the need for a modern, safe facility not only for our employees who work there every day but also for the public that we serve through our work," Summers said. "I am thankful to all those who have toured our current facility and advocated for this project to move forward."

During her campaign before being elected to the office of Coroner in November, Summers said a new morgue was sorely needed in Will County. The board has worked to prioritize this project among many other important projects and will take further action in the coming weeks to formalize the funding and bid process to make this project a reality.

"The Board’s Finance Committee will soon take up this issue, once the Speaker assigns this project for consideration," said Minority Leader Mike Fricilone. "Will County’s strong financial management over many years allows the Board to move this project forward and continue to build on our previous capital improvement success."

The next step for this process will be formal action by the board's finance committee and further action to finalize the bid process so that final design work can be completed. The goal is to begin construction later in 2021.

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