About a dozen headstones found dumped in a Maywood alley caused a lot of concern for neighbors Wednesday, particularly for those who had names of relatives engraved on them.
"This seems like it's disrespecting my husband's memory, just to throw it away like trash," said Linda Billups. Her husband's name is on one of the stones, though it's misspelled.
Billups said the stone was from Forest Home Cemetery.
"When we brought it (the misspelling) to their attention, they said they would replace it and they did," she said. "And I just took it for granted that they would dispose of it in a decent way."
Resident Cynthia Young said she was walking through the neighborhood when she saw names on the concrete and then realized she was looking at headstones.
"They come and dump stuff over here all the time," she said. "We get all kinds of garbage, but we never got something like this."
Maywood Police Chief Tim Curry said the illegal dumping is a crime and would be investigated.
"When we find out who the perpetrators are, we'll be trying to place charges on them," he said.
Maywood police say the headstones had misspellings or other mistakes and were sent to a company to be destroyed. The headstones were moved to a lot that is owned by the company.
Last year, Alsip's Burr Oak Cemetery was closed for months when it was revealed that hundreds of graves had been dug up so the burial plots could be resold.
