Illinois § 17

§ 17.

Memorialization of veteran remains. (a) If a veterans' organization or not-for-profit corporation has identified human remains of a veteran that are more than 100 years old and wishes to have a marker placed to designate the grave as that of a veteran, a cemetery authority may allow memorialization without permission of the decedent's heirs under this Section. The marker may be for a previously unmarked grave or serve as a replacement of or repair to an existing damaged marker. All costs for memorialization under this Section, including the marker, its installation, and any removal of or repair to a previous marker that is damaged, shall be entirely borne by the veterans' organization. In no event shall the human remains be disturbed. (b) The memorialization and its installation, and any removal of or repair to a damaged marker, may only take place with the permission of the involved cemetery authority and in compliance with the rules and regulations and any collective bargaining agreement of the involved cemetery. (c) Before any memorialization under this Section may take place, the veterans' organization must first make a good faith effort to contact the decedent's next of kin, and if there is no response within 120 days, the process may proceed. The veterans' organization shall provide the cemetery authority with a notarized statement detailing its efforts to identify and contact the next of kin and the lack of response thereto, which statement may be made a part of the cemetery records. (d) If any heir of a decedent later objects to a memorialization made under this Section, the sole remedy shall be the removal of the involved marker at the expense of the involved veterans' organization. If the veterans' organization no longer exists or is without funds, removal shall be at the expense of the heir. In no event shall there be monetary damages, or any other equitable relief or penalties, against the cemetery authority, cemetery, or veterans' association. (Source: P.A. 103-841, eff. 1-1-25.)