MJACKSON011604_001x.jpg Michael Jackson's hometown of Gary, Indiana, is asking the family to send him there, according to a spokesperson for the mayor. CNN reports that Mayor Rudy Clay has been in contact with the Jackson family, and he told the Chicago radio station WGN that he expects that Jackson's body will be taken to Gary for a memorial service he is planning next week.

"I believe that his body will lie in state in Gary, Indiana," Clay said yesterday. "Now, it may not happen, but I believe it will." It would be "a memorial that's fit for the prince of peace and a memorial that's fit for Gary, Indiana's favorite son, the greatest entertainer that ever lived," Clay added.

The Jackson memorial service is set for July 10 at U.S. Steel Works ballpark in Gary, and if any of this actually goes through, a burial site for the singer could be near a proposed Jackson family museum and a performing arts center.

Spokeswoman Lalosa Burns said, "The mayor had spoken with a contact of the Jackson family and expressed our interest in having that to be a part of the history of this great family. We have not received confirmation on that." Jackson's father, Joe, visited the city last year and talked with Clay about a Jackson museum, Burns said.

Think the Jackson family will actually agree to this?