A gaggle of attorneys filed into U.S. Bankruptcy Court here Thursday to battle over whether the company that owns Burr Oak Cemetery should get control back.
Nothing was resolved after U.S. Judge Pamela Hollis granted attorneys from the company, Perpetua Holdings of Illinois, and the Illinois attorney general's office an hour to try to reach agreement on future management of the graveyard.
The case was continued to Tuesday.
"Burr Oak families have suffered enough. We're here today to protect their interest and their rights," said Paul Gaynor, chief of the attorney general's Public Interest Division. "We're in active discussions with the owner entities and will not compromise until we reach that goal."
The attorney general's office -- supported by attorneys representing Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, Burr Oak's temporary receiver Roman Szabelski, and thousands of plaintiffs in resulting lawsuits -- had filed a motion Wednesday seeking to have a trustee appointed.
The move came after Perpetua -- operating the Alsip cemetery when about 300 bodies allegedly were illegally dug up and discarded so graves could be resold -- filed this week for bankruptcy, regaining control under bankruptcy rules.
"We have a problem with their management," Gaynor stressed.
Meanwhile, plaintiffs with loved ones at Burr Oaks, including those whose attorneys filed for a class-action suit in Cook County Chancery Court, have seen those suits stayed by the bankruptcy proceeding.
Attorneys in those suits Thursday said their focus now is on about $6 million in trust funds held by Perpetua, a loan from the Pacesetter investment firm, now a party to the bankruptcy, and on what insurance and assets Perpetua has available to pay claims.