Coroner discusses changes in his office
By Sheila Shelton/Staff Reporter
Daily Leader (IL)
October 20, 2006
Livingston County Coroner Michael P. Burke spoke at a noon luncheon Thursday about the many changes that have taken place in his office during the 15 years he has been in charge.
Burke was the featured speaker at Thursday's Issues and Eggs luncheon held at Baby Bull's Fine Dining and sponsored by the Pontiac Area Chamber of Commerce.
"I was appointed to the office on Nov. 12, 1991, after my predecessor, Roger Duffy, had died while in office. When I met with Patty (Roger's wife) she presented me with a couple of boxes and a typewriter. This county had just not provided office or storage space for the coroner's office," said Burke.
Burke explained that records for the coroner's office used to be kept in closets attached to the men's and women's restrooms in the basement of the Livingston County Courthouse.
"That was also during the days when these restrooms were open to the public and the person working in the closet on files had to get out if someone wished to use the restroom," said Burke. He explained that the county later provided a small room in the basement of the courthouse as the coroner's office.
The coroner now has an office in a county-owned building at the corner of Main and Water streets.
Burke explained that a county coroner holds a dual position as head of death investigations and head of law enforcement.
"Were a sheriff to commit a crime I would become sheriff and
warden of the jail," Burke said. Burke did serve in this dual
role, in fact, following the death of Livingston County Sheriff Don
Wall in January 1994.
Burke explained that he employs six deputy coroners, who are situated
throughout the county.
"These people are paid on a per-call basis," he said.
"My chief deputy coroner is a woman and my administrative assistant is a female. These women are great at doing what can be a very difficult job. I have also had several deputy coroners who are females," said the coroner.
Burke explained that during his tenure he has made it a priority to retrieve and preserve all old records from previous coroners in the county and keep all new records up to date.
"We receive two to three calls a week from people who are researching genealogy and want to know how grandpa so-and-so died many years ago and what appeared as the cause of death on his death certificate," he said.
Burke said his department's proposed budget for the coming year is $212,000 of which $60,000 is budgeted for autopsies and he said less than 43 percent of the total amount is for salaries.
"There are 39,000 people living in Livingston County and the county is served by seven different hospice agencies. Hospice becomes involved when a a person's illness is diagnosed as terminal and the person in many cases wishes to die at home. All of these hospice cases are reported to my office because of the fact that many of the people will be passing away at home," said Burke.
The coroner said there had been a change in the burial status of inmates in prison status.
"It used to be that if you died as an inmate you were buried by the state and the family had no say in where. Then a child of a legislator died while incarcerated and the family couldn't get the body and that was the beginning of the end of state's involvement in burial. Now everything has changed and the family is allowed to make the arrangements for funeral and burial as they so wish," said Burke.
Burke said that the hardest thing he has to do as coroner is to go to the home of a family and make a death notification.
"My office does this for both our county and other counties who have a death from Livingston. I often take a uniformed police officer along so I will not frighten someone by ringing their doorbell during the night. I also try to take a member of the clergy along. It is so sad because as soon as they look out the door they always seem to know something has happened. This part of the job never gets easier," said Burke.