Sangamon County prepares to open its first ever morgue

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - In about on month, Sangamon County will open its first ever morgue.

The county has always used facilities at local hospitals to complete autopsies and other procedures. But now, Sangamon and 14 other counties will be able to use the new facility located in Springfield.

"Our office is going to be servicing several counties in central Illinois with the forensic medicine needs," said Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon. "Once we get up and going, we'll be helping with transportation, autopsies, toxicology, radiology. Things are going to be really, really busy here, but very helpful for these these outlying counties."

Allmon has been collaborating with the county and the construction team on the new morgue for the last few years. He has ensured the facility is built the most efficient way based on what his team needs.

This includes enough storage for thousands of files from decades of cases, space for families to meet with investigators, and places for staff to sleep and rest while on 24 hour shifts. The morgue itself includes a significant amount of space for multiple counties to operate and store evidence in between cases. They've also increased security to get in and around the building.

"Our office really wants to make sure from start to finish that we do everything right the first time, especially if there's going to be any criminal culpability coming down the pipe as a result of the case that we're handling," said Allmon. "We want to make sure that the integrity of the evidence is intact and that we utilize our space that we have now to secure what we need to secure appropriately."

The facility is a dream come true for Allmon and his team, who current drive to several locations to complete their work. The upgrade also means Sangamon County has a full-time forensic pathologist on their staff, which Allmon says is unique for any county in Central or Southern Illinois.

Last year, almost 600 autopsies were completed in Central Illinois for Sangamon and surrounding counties. Allmon says that number will be close to 700 this year.