La Salle County coroner: Death caseload projected to climb 17%

Rich Ploch missed the Aug. 2 meeting of the La Salle County Board, viewed it later online and came to a spot where the board revisited the question of building a county morgue.

The board’s reaction? Laughter. And when the laughing subsided about a dozen members gave the proposal thumbs down – literally.

Ploch is La Salle County’s coroner. He didn’t think it a bit funny.

St. Margaret’s Health plans to transfer emergency room services from Spring Valley to Peru (to the former Illinois Valley Community Hospital) and that means a swath of Bureau County’s death investigations will become La Salle County’s.

Ploch projects his caseload will climb 17% by 2024. The need for a morgue will only increase, as well.

“The families of the decedents deserve a facility within our county knowing their loved one is nearby,” Ploch said. “I feel the morgue can be built using the current ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds and public safety tax. This won’t require raising taxes, in my opinion.”

The need for a morgue has been a political football between the County Board and the coroner’s office for a generation. In the mid-1990s, then-Coroner Jody Bernard asked for space in the expanded Criminal Justice Complex in Ottawa, as the CJC had ballooned in size when the county put in a new jail, but the board turned her down.

Board Members have long noted trauma cases wind up in Peoria or Winnebago counties, while medical centers in Peoria and Rockford get the worst of La Salle County’s traffic accidents, and concluded it was more economical to use neighboring facilities.

Bernard and successors Bill Wujek and Ploch have argued the County Board’s math is wrong. Taxpayers, they have said, would save money if the county invested in a morgue.

Ploch said his office spends $80,000 a year transporting bodies for autopsies in McLean County instead of handling them locally. He’s stepped up his pitch since ARPA funds became available, saying investing $3 million in ARPA funds would give the county a morgue without increasing property taxes for La Salle County residents.

That investment, Ploch said, not only would immediately cut down transportation expanses but create revenue, insofar as small, neighboring counties could use the La Salle County morgue for paid services. Ploch estimates long-term savings of $1.1 million within 20 years.

Then there’s the time savings. State’s Attorney Joe Navarro said he favors a county morgue for logistical reasons. Investigators and prosecutors would get forensic results back more quickly to pursue criminal cases.

“And Rich, his chief deputy and secretary are all crammed in a very small office with no room to expand within this building,” Navarro said.

Sheriff Adam Diss also supports a morgue to have forensic tools at the ready.

“As it is now we travel several counties away to attend autopsies, which takes additional manpower and time,” Diss said. “I have been with the sheriff’s office for 24 years and have watched three different coroners work toward establishing a La Salle County morgue.

“If that could be done now without impacting the taxpayers of La Salle County it would be fantastic while providing increased services for our citizens.”

So far, though, those arguments have fallen flat with the County Board. Board Chairman Don Jensen foresees no immediate action.

“The discussion on the morgue is tabled at this point while looking for different alternatives to minimize costs for taxpayers,” Jensen said.

At the Aug. 2 meeting, Board Member Randy Freeman (R-Lostant) leaned against a county investment in morgue; but he revived the dormant notion of entering into a partnership with Illinois Valley Community College. A morgue could be feasible, he said, if paired with clinical setting for IVCC students.

When the topic came up, Board Member Joanne McNally (R-Mendota) drew laughter by comparing the morgue debate to the film “Groundhog Day,” in which the protagonist is forced to relive the same day over and over again – an allusion to the decadeslong debate over a morgue.

Asked later about her position in light of Ploch’s projected 17% increase caseload, McNally said the board could revisit a morgue when and if the influx materializes.

“My view on building a morgue will remain the same at this time,” McNally said. “If the increase is accurate, then I think it can be brought up at that time. We may have the funds available to build it through ARPA funds, but what is the plan to maintain it?”

Ploch countered that La Salle County already is paying for the operation of the coroner’s office and the establishment of a morgue won’t much change the line-item allocation from the county’s general fund.

“They maintain the other county buildings – the highway department, the jail – so what gives the morgue any less credence?” Ploch said. “I want the public to know we can support this.”