ILLINOIS LEGISLATORS did their part to strengthen the oversight of cemeteries last week in response to the desecration of graves at Burr Oak cemetery earlier this year.

Cemetery managers will have to be licensed under the legislation passed by the House on Thursday and the Senate on Friday. Workers at those sites will have to undergo screening. A state database of burial records will be required. The state will have greater authority to investigate cemeteries as well.

Most of the recommendations of Gov. Pat Quinn's Cemetery Task Force were addressed by the new law.

Legislators were motivated to make sure there is no repeat of the mistakes made at Burr Oak. More than 100 graves were desecrated. Some bodies were dumped in a brushy, weedy area. Other bodies were double-stacked in plots.

Workers at the cemetery did these things to free up space that could be resold as burial plots.

The law can help with several of the things that led to this scandal. In addition, investigators must take abuse reports seriously. State agencies and local law enforcement officials were contacted with tips about the Burr Oak abuses. Unfortunately, the reports were not taken seriously. Opportunities to stop the illegal activity earlier were missed.

Lawmakers have done well to protect cemeteries. They should not stop there.

By reinforcing the idea that all reports of abuse deserve a thorough investigation, the state could head off future scandals.