State Senator Emil Jones (D- Chicago) sponsored legislation to address a constituent concern stemming from an incident involving the remains of a loved one.

The constituent didn't have rights to her father's remains and another family member took it upon themselves to bury the loved one without any consent from the rest of the deceased family.

Senator Jones office was then contacted by deceased man's daughter and legislation was drafted to help this from happening to families in the future. The measure creates a process for handling a deceased love one's remains in the event that there is no written direction.

"Dealing with the passing of a loved one is always a deeply complicated process," Sen. Jones said. "Not only are you dealing the emotional toll, but you are also tasked with ensuring that the remains are handled with care and dignity."

Earlier this week, the measure was presented in committee and the constituent who brought this measure forward testified on its importance.

"The measure unfortunately didn't pass committee, but we were able to inch closer in negotiations with interested stakeholders to ensure that instances like this never happen again," Jones said

Senate Bill 158 is currently in Senate Judiciary Committee, and all interested parties are working on solutions for equitable legislation.