'My son will be remembered': Bill to reimburse families of murdered children goes to the governor's desk
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A bill now headed for the governor's desk would pay for burying children killed by gun violence.
The bill is named for Mychal Moultry, Jr., a little boy shot to death last year.
CBS 2's Shardaa Gray spoke with Mychal's mother about the bill passing. Angela Gregg said the Mychal Moultry, Jr. Funeral and Burial Assistance Act is a progressive step.
Ever since her four-year-old son passed, she's been trying to bring gun violence against children to the forefront.
"It's a good thing for the families that feel like through everything that we have to go through, with our child being murdered, that the state is now going to carry some of that burden for us," Gregg said.
The memory of Angela Gregg's son, four-year-old Mychal Moultry Jr. could live on through a new law in Illinois. Mychal was shot and killed while visiting his father on Labor Day weekend 2021.
Thanks to Monday's action, the state is now one step closer to helping lower income families bury their children killed by gun violence.
"It is very unfortunate that this actually has to become a law. That we actually have to ask the state to help us bury our children," Gregg said.
Gregg's family had to pay $13,000 for funeral expenses. She would have liked to have her son buried. She settled for cremation instead.
"What we had to do was call the Crime Victim's Compensation Act, which is essentially reimbursement. However, here we are seven months later after my son was murdered and we have not been reimbursed for those expenses," Gregg said.
The Mychal Moultry Jr. Funeral and Burial Assistance Act, authored by Senator Jacqueline Collins just passed the house and senate. She says the governor has 60 days to sign the bill.
Illinois would provide up to $10,000 for funerals and burials of children who are murdered by a gun.
Forty-five children were murdered by gun violence just in Chicago under the age of 17 in 2021 and 14 have been murdered since the beginning of this year. Gregg said although her son is gone, his name will live forever.
"It's a way to immortalize my son. For his small life, he was only here for four years, but now my son will be remembered," Gregg said.
The National Association of Funeral Directors said the average cost for a funeral with burial in 2021 is more than $9,4004. Senator Collins said they're pushing for a public signing for the governor to sign the bill.