The court-ordered inspection of South Chicago Chapel is over. On Friday morning, inspectors from four Chicago Department of Buildings bureaus entered the shuttered funeral home at 2939 E. 95th St., where decomposing bodies were found in August. They spent more than 30 minutes inside and came out around 10:45 a.m. without speaking, WBEZ reported. The department says its findings reach a judge on October 29.
By the Numbers
Why four bureaus
This walkthrough was the inspection a Cook County judge ordered September 24, when the city also won a preliminary injunction barring any lease, use or occupancy of the building, as Obitley reported at the time. The injunction traced to the discovery on August 6, when police acting on a tip found decomposing bodies inside. WBEZ's current count is 55; Obitley's earlier reporting, following CBS News Chicago, put it at 56, nine unidentified. The city's suit against owners Clark and Johanna Morgan alleges 23 building code violations and seeks $11,500 per day in fines. ABC7 reported the suit cites work without permits and failure to keep the property "clean, sanitary, and safe," and that no charges have been filed.
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The department's statement, carried verbatim by ABC7, opened by acknowledging "the deep pain the families are experiencing." It continued: "Today's inspection was conducted pursuant to a court order requiring the Department to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the building. Inspectors from the Department's Electrical, New Construction (Carpentry), Plumbing, and Demolition bureaus were present. The Department will present its findings to the Court at the next hearing on October 29, 2026."
The bureau names translate plainly: wiring, carpentry, plumbing, demolition. A Demolition bureau presence does not mean the city has decided to demolish the building. The statement describes no findings.
Chicago police stood by as inspectors examined the property, ABC7 reported. An attorney for the owners was present and declined to speak with media; the station said co-owner Clark Morgan was there too. WBEZ could confirm only an SUV believed to be registered to Morgan, and reported it could not be confirmed whether he or his wife Johanna were present. Ald. Peter Chico (10th) was also on site, per WBEZ. The outlet reported neither he nor the department responded to its requests for comment.
"A house of horrors"
The demands did not wait for the findings. As inspectors worked, activists and a family impacted by the discovery called for the building to come down, WBEZ reported. "This is a house of horrors we're standing next to," said Lisette Guillen, a crisis responder with Case Files Chicago. Most of Chicago and the surrounding areas feel the same, she said: the building "probably should be knocked down."
She called the site a neighborhood hazard. "There's children that are here. There's pets that walk on the grass and take things back inside the home," Guillen said. "We don't know what the area around may have been exposed to."
What could come next
The city's lawsuit already sketches the routes a judge could take. The complaint asks the court to appoint a receiver to take control of the building, to authorize the city to "demolish, repair, enclose or clean up" the property, and, under a proper petition, to declare the property abandoned and grant the city a judicial deed to it.
In the background, the fines keep accruing. The complaint seeks $11,500 for each day the violations stand; counted from August 6, the day police found the bodies, the total would top $977,000 by the October 29 hearing.
The medical examiner's work is finished: on October 14 the office announced it had identified all 55 sets of remains and notified every family, using fingerprints, DNA, radiology and dental records.
The criminal file has not moved. No charges have been filed against the owners in either the chapel case or the related Heights Crematory matter. Illinois State Police sent prosecutors 1,166 potential counts from the crematory case in 2025; ABC7 reconfirmed this week that none has been filed, and the Cook County State's Attorney's public releases through October 22 include no charges in either case.
The families have their own track. A potential class action filed in August is one of more than 20 lawsuits the Morgans face over the chapel and the crematory.
October 29
One date changed this week. Obitley's October 6 article, following the September 24 injunction coverage, listed the case's next hearing as October 30. The city's October 23 statement, quoted verbatim by ABC7 and reported by WBEZ, puts the hearing at October 29, 2026. Obitley could not reach the county's online docket to confirm the new date; it stands on the city's statement.
What to watch at the hearing: whether the findings describe the interior's condition; whether the city asks a judge for demolition, fines or both; and whether the injunction's terms change.
The inspectors left without a word Friday. Their findings reach a courtroom October 29.
*Sources: WBEZ/Sun-Times "Grave Injustice" series, "City inspects funeral home where 55 decaying bodies were found amid calls for its demolition," by Mohammad Samra, updated October 23, 2026; ABC7 Chicago, "City inspectors return to South Side funeral home where decomposed bodies were found," by Lissette Nuñez, October 23, 2026; ABC7 Chicago, "Cook County Medical Examiner identifies 55 bodies from South Side funeral home," October 14, 2026; City of Chicago complaint, Case No. 20261401023 (document via WTTW); Obitley, "UPDATE: Judge Locks Down South Chicago Chapel Building; Police Carry Dozens of Boxes From Operators' Glenwood Storefront," October 6, 2026.*
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