§ 15-1508 Abandonment of cemeteries. a. Petition for removal of remains. The mayor of any village may submit a verified petition to a judge of a court of record seeking an order directing the removal of the remains of any deceased person or persons buried in a potter's field or any neglected or abandoned cemetery owned by the village in which no deceased person shall have been interred within twenty years, and directing their reinterment in a properly kept cemetery in the same county. b. Contents of petition. The verified petition shall contain the following:(1) Name of petitioner and a statement that petitioner is the mayor of the village in which the cemetery is located;
(2) Name of deceased person or persons whose remains are sought to be removed, if known;
(3) Name and location of cemetery in which interred and from which removal is asked to be made;
(4) Name and location of cemetery to which remains are desired to be removed and reinterred; and
(5) Facts showing reasons for such removal. c. Order to show cause. The judge to whom such a petition is presented shall make an order to show cause, returnable before such judge at a time and place within the county not less than twenty days from the date of presentation, why the remains should not be removed and reinterred as provided in the petition. d. Publication. The order to show cause shall provide for its publication in each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper, to be designated in the order, which is published nearest to the cemetery from which removal is to be made. Proof of publication shall be filed with the court. e. Hearing. Any relative of the deceased person or persons or the officer of any cemetery in which the remains of the deceased person or persons were originally interred may oppose the granting of such an order. f. Order. (1) If no objection is made, and upon the filing of proof of publication of the order to show cause, the judge shall make an order directing at village expense the removal of the remains of the deceased person or persons to the cemetery designated in the petition in which the remains are to be buried.
(2) If an objection is made, the judge shall make such order as the justice and equity of the application shall require.
(3) The petition and order shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county in which the remains of the deceased were originally interred, and a certified copy of the final order shall be served upon the cemetery to which the remains are to be removed prior to any removal. g. Removal and resetting of headstone or monument. Any headstone or monument which marks the grave of the deceased person or persons shall be removed and reset at the grave in the cemetery in which the removal is permitted to be made. Such headstone or monument need not be so removed and reset where the order provides for the purchase or erection of a new headstone or monument. h. Expenses. The order shall provide the amount of expense of all removals and reinterment and resetting of the headstone or monument, including the expenses of proceedings under this section. All expenses shall be paid by the village whose mayor made the petition. i. Care of reinterred remains. The expense for annual care of the grave in the cemetery to which the removal is made shall be annually provided by the village whose mayor made the petition and shall be paid annually to the cemetery to which the remains were reinterred. Alternatively, the village may pay the cemetery to which the remains were removed an amount sufficient to provide perpetual care. j. Report. Upon completion of the removal, reinterment and resetting of the headstone or monuments, the person or persons designated in the order as having charge of the removals and reinterments shall file a report in the office of the county clerk. k. Use of lands. After remains have been removed and reinterred pursuant to this section, the lands where originally interred may be used for any village purposes and may be conveyed or disposed of in the same manner as other village lands.
