Westlawn Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located in Norridge, a suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The cemetery covers 72 acres (29 ha) and roughly 46,000 people are buried there.
Westlawn Cemetery | |
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Details | |
Established | 1937[1] |
Location | |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 41°57′28″N 87°49′38″W / 41.95778°N 87.82722°W[2] |
Type | Public |
Style | Jewish cemetery |
Size | 72 acres (29 ha) |
No. of interments | 49,000[1] |
Website | Official website |
Find a Grave | Westlawn Cemetery |
Westlawn was the site of gravestone desecration in January 2008. At least 57 tombstones were defaced with anti-Semitic slogans. Using white and blue spray paint, the vandal drew swastikas and slurs on tombstones in a western section of the cemetery.
A 21-year-old Polish immigrant male was charged with the crime in February 2008. He has been directly linked by police to a neo-Nazi organization in the Chicago area.[11] He was convicted on two charges of felony vandalism and sentenced to 7 years in prison, the maximum sentence.[12]