On the heels of a major crisis at the Cook County Morgue, Commissioner Jeff Tobolski (D-McCook) is introducing an ordinance amendment to make the Medical Examiner’s Office responsible for notifying a decedent’s next of kin.

A recent investigation by ABC 7 told the horrifying story of Brian Warren’s missing body. On January 11th, someone at St. Bernard Hospital told the family that Brian Warren had died of a heart attack and was taken to the county morgue. After repeatedly calling the morgue and being told that their brother’s body was not in their custody, the Warrens finally found out that Brian’s body was indeed at the Morgue. It was among the hundreds of bodies that had been stacked up in open boxes and bags, thrown onto shelves, and piled on the floor of the morgue. He had been there for two weeks unaccounted for.

Tobolski’s ordinance amendment will be introduced at today’s County Board meeting, and is aimed at making the Medical Examiner’s office more accountable for the overflow of bodies at the morgue and quicker response time to unnerved families searching for their missing loved ones. “It is our job to ensure that no other family has to go through what the Warrens did,” said Tobolski.