Not long ago, La Salle County officials said a morgue was off the table. That might no longer be true.

Tuesday, county officials confirmed a new headquarters for the La Salle County Coroner’s Office – including maybe a containment unit for the deceased – is in play.

La Salle County Board Chairman Don Jensen said discussion, and perhaps a vote, could happen at the March 13 meeting of the full board.

Tuesday, the board went into closed session to discuss the matter and took no formal action after emerging. Nevertheless, this would represent a marked reversal by the county. Last summer, the board literally laughed off a morgue proposal and Jensen confirmed then the issue was tabled, though “different alternatives” were under review.

The second biggest county in the state and we don’t have a morgue?

—  Glen Pratt, Peru resident

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” Coroner Rich Ploch said, acknowledging the board’s seeming change of heart. “We do need to continue to look not only to get adequate office space to meet with families, but also provide a safe office environment for our workers and look into providing a morgue and autopsy space for the county.”

What changed? Public sentiment, for one.

Tuesday, several members of the public appeared in board chambers and asked county officials to reconsider the decision to not fund a holding facility for the deceased.

Glen Pratt, a resident of Peru, said he lost his brother last year and was taken aback when he was directed to meet the coroner not at a county facility but rather at a private funeral home – and not the one Pratt had retained.

“This ain’t Mayberry,” Pratt said. “The second biggest county in the state and we don’t have a morgue?”

Chris Lukow, chairman of La Salle County Respect to Life, said he viewed the lack of a morgue as a right-to-life issue, insofar as county residents deserve humane treatment when bereaved.

Now a few new board members have chimed in, as well. Member Ray Gatza (R-Dimmick Township) said the morgue deserves a fresh look by him and others who were elected in November and not yet seated on the board when the board weighed using COVID-19 relief funds to address it.

“What I’m asking is for this board to make a decision together,” Gatza said. “If we can go back and bring it back is all I’m asking.”

“All I’m saying is please recognize some of us are brand new.”

That discussion ended with the board adjourning; but Jensen said the coroner’s needs will be revisited in March.