Newborn baby found in dresser drawer along Chicago alley, police say

CHICAGO -- Chicago police are investigating after someone found a baby on the street in the city's Northwest Side Tuesday morning.

Police said at about 8:13 a.m. in the 2300 block of North Oak Park Avenue, a newborn baby boy was found in a dresser drawer in an alley.

The baby was transported to Lurie Children's Hospital in unknown condition, police said.

The woman who found him said his mouth was filled with vomit and she rendered aid until first responders arrived to take over.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, said she found the baby by chance when she came across a set of dresser drawers that had been left in the alley. The pulls on the drawers caught her attention and she stopped, hoping to recycle them. That was when she found the baby wrapped in a rosary.

Residents in the area are outraged someone would just leave a baby out with the trash.

"It's very heartbreaking to hear something like that," said resident Candy Pittner. "I don't get it. I really don't because you have so many other places, you could have dropped it at a hospital...firehouse, church. You could have even rang my doorbell, I would have taken the baby and left. Anything but leaving it in that drawer."

California has a Safe Surrender law allowing parents to safely surrender their baby at any hospital or fire station. Information about the program and locations in Los Angeles County is available here or by calling 1-877-222-9723.

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