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 Office Of The Medical Examiner
Bureau Name Bureau Of Administration
Main Office Hours of Operation
Address 2121 West Harrison St.
  Chicago, IL 60612
Telephone (312) 666-0500/0200
Director Dr. Nancy L. Jones - Chief M.E.
Day Open Close
Mon 8:30 AM 4:30 PM
Tue 8:30 AM 4:30 PM
Wed 8:30 AM 4:30 PM
Thu 8:30 AM 4:30 PM
Fri 8:30 AM 4:30 PM
Sat closed closed
Sun closed closed
Purpose
The Medical Examiners Office investigates any human death that falls within any or all of the following catergories:
  • criminal violence
     
  • suicide
     
  • accident
     
  • suddenly when in apparent good condition
  • unattended by a practicing licensed physician
  • suspicious or unusual circumstances
     
  • criminal abortion
     
  • poisoning or attributable to an adverse reaction to drugs and/or alcohol
     
  • disease constituting a threat to public health
     
  • disease
     
  • injury or toxic agent resulting from employment
     
  • during medical diagnostic or therapeutic procedures
     
  • in any prison or penal institution
     
  • when involuntarily confined in jail, prison hospitals or other institutions or in police custody
     
  • when any human body is to be cremated, dissected or buried at sea
     
  • unclaimed bodies
     
  • when a dead body is brought into a new medico-legal jurisdiction without proper medical certification
Services Provided
The Medical Examiners Office provides:
  • Certificate of Death (to funeral directors for filing with local registrar)
     
  • Autopsy Protocol (description of what is found at autopsy)
     
  • Toxicology Report (lists any foreign substance found in body)
     
  • Cremation Permits (to funeral directors)
Historical Perspective
As a result of a 1972 referendum, the Office of the Medical Examiner of Cook County was established December 6, 1976, and the Office of the Coroner was abolished. The Office is the only Medical Examiner system in Illinois and covers half the population of the state. The Office of the Medical Examiner plays a vital role in the administration of justice and protection of public health.

A Medical Examiner differs from a Coroner in the following respects:
  • a medical examiner is an appointed official with necessary qualifications, while a Coroner is an elected official with no required qualifications
     
  • In Cook County, the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners with the advice and consent of the Board of Commissioners appoints the medical examiner
     
  • The Medical Examiner must be a physician, licensed to practice medicine in the State of Illinois and be certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic and forensic pathology
     
  • The Medical Examiner serves continuously and can only be removed for cause.

Robert J. Stein, M.D. was appointed as the first Medical Examiner in 1976 and served until his retirement in 1993. The Cook County Institute of Forensic Medicine, completed in 1983, was renamed the Robert J. Stein Institute of Forensic Medicine in February 1994. Edmund R. Donoghue, M.D., the current Medical Examiner, was appointed as Chief Medical Examiner in 1993. The Office employs 110 persons, including 14 forensic pathologists and 26 full-time investigators. More than 12,000 deaths are reported to the Medical Examiner annually. Of this 6,000 are accepted for investigation. The office performs about 4,500 autopsies each year.

 Chicago Crime Scene Cleanup and Illinois Bio Recovery Services

Most crime and trauma scene cleanup companies provide bio recovery and decontamination services for crime and trauma situations including homicide, assault, rape, robbery, suicide, auto accidents, work related accidents, unattended death, natural death, human decomposition, death odor, meth lab cleanup and hazardous waste removal. These services are available for homeowners, apartments, business owners, property management companies, shopping malls, mass transportation services, health departments, school boards, colleges, local, state, and federal agencies in these cities Addison Aledo Algonquin Alsip Alton Anna Antioch Arlington Heights Aurora Barrington Bartlett Batavia Beardstown Belleville Bellwood Belvidere Bensenville Benton Berwyn Bethalto Bloomingdale Bloomington Blue Island Bolingbrook Bourbonnais Bradley Breese Bridgeview Broadview Brookfield Buffalo Grove Burbank Burr Ridge Calumet City Canton Carbondale Carlinville Carlyle Carmi Carol Stream Carpentersville Carterville Carthage Cary Centralia Champaign Charleston Chatham Chester Chicago Chicago Heights Chicago Ridge Chillicothe Cicero Clarendon Hills Clinton Collinsville Columbia Country Club Hills Crete Crystal Lake Danville Darien Decatur Deerfield Dekalb Des Plaines Dixon Dolton Downers Grove Du Quoin Dundee East Alton East Moline East Peoria East Saint Louis Edwardsville Effingham Elburn Elgin Elk Grove Village Elmhurst Elmwood Park Eureka Evanston Evergreen Park Fairfield Fairview Heights Flora Flossmoor Forest Park Fox Lake Frankfort Franklin Park Freeport Galena Galesburg Geneseo Geneva Glen Carbon Glen Ellyn Glencoe Glendale Heights Glenview Godfrey Granite City Grayslake Greenville Gurnee Harrisburg Harvard Harvey Havana Hazel Crest Herrin Hickory Hills Highland Highland Park Hillsboro Hillside Hinsdale Homewood Hoopeston Huntley Itasca Jacksonville Jerseyville Joliet Kankakee Kewanee La Grange La Grange Park La Salle Lake Bluff Lake Forest Lake In the Hills Lake Villa Lake Zurich Lansing Lemont Libertyville Lincoln Lincolnshire Lincolnwood Lisle Litchfield Lockport Lombard Loves Park Lyons MacHesney Park MacOmb Mahomet Marengo Marion Marseilles Marshall Matteson Mattoon Maywood Mc Leansboro McHenry Melrose Park Mendota Metamora Metropolis Midlothian Milan Mokena Moline Monee Monmouth Montgomery Monticello Morris Morrison Morton Morton Grove Mount Carmel Mount Prospect Mount Vernon Mundelein Murphysboro Naperville Nashville New Lenox Newton Niles Normal North Aurora North Chicago Northbrook O Fallon Oak Brook Oak Forest Oak Lawn Oak Park Olney Olympia Fields Oregon Orland Park Oswego Ottawa Palatine Palos Heights Palos Hills Palos Park Pana Paris Park Forest Park Ridge Pekin Peoria Peru Petersburg Pinckneyville Pittsfield Plainfield Plano Pontiac Princeton Prospect Heights Quincy Rantoul Red Bud River Forest River Grove Riverdale Riverside Robinson Rochelle Rock Falls Rock Island Rockford Rolling Meadows Romeoville Roscoe Roselle Round Lake Rushville Saint Charles Salem Sandwich Savanna Schaumburg Schiller Park Shelbyville Silvis Skokie South Beloit South Elgin South Holland Sparta Spring Grove Springfield Sterling Streamwood Streator Sullivan Summit Argo Sumner Sycamore Taylorville Tinley Park Troy Tuscola Urbana Vandalia Vernon Hills Villa Park Warrenville Washington Waterloo Watseka Wauconda Waukegan West Chicago West Frankfort Westchester Western Springs Westmont Wheaton Wheeling Wilmette Wilmington Winfield Winnetka Wood Dale Wood River Woodridge Woodstock Worth Yorkville Zion Illinois.