104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB2493
 
Introduced 2/4/2025, by Rep. Nicolle Grasse
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
750 ILCS 5/203  from Ch. 40, par. 203
    Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Requires county clerks to establish a process within 6 months or sooner after the effective date of the amendatory Act to allow a party or parties to appear by using an electronic communication device to participate in any video conferencing application in which the party or parties may be seen and heard by the county clerk in real time.


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A BILL FOR
 
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1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of 
5Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 203 as follows:
 
6    (750 ILCS 5/203)  (from Ch. 40, par. 203)
7    Sec. 203. License to Marry. When a marriage application 
8has been completed and signed by both parties to a prospective 
9marriage and both parties have appeared before the county 
10clerk and the marriage license fee has been paid, the county 
11clerk shall issue a license to marry and a marriage 
12certificate form upon being furnished:
13        (1) satisfactory proof that each party to the marriage 
14    will have attained the age of 18 years at the time the 
15    marriage license is effective or will have attained the 
16    age of 16 years and has either the consent to the marriage 
17    of both parents or his guardian or judicial approval; 
18    provided, if one parent cannot be located in order to 
19    obtain such consent and diligent efforts have been made to 
20    locate that parent by the consenting parent, then the 
21    consent of one parent plus a signed affidavit by the 
22    consenting parent which (i) names the absent parent and 
23    states that he or she cannot be located, and (ii) states 
 
 
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1    what diligent efforts have been made to locate the absent 
2    parent, shall have the effect of both parents' consent for 
3    purposes of this Section;
4        (2) satisfactory proof that the marriage is not 
5    prohibited; and
6        (3) an affidavit or record as prescribed in 
7    subparagraph (1) of Section 205 or a court order as 
8    prescribed in subparagraph (2) of Section 205, if 
9    applicable.
10    With each marriage license, the county clerk shall provide 
11a pamphlet describing the causes and effects of fetal alcohol 
12syndrome. At least annually, the county board shall submit to 
13the Illinois Department of Public Health a report as to the 
14county clerk's compliance with the requirement that the county 
15clerk provide a pamphlet with each marriage license. All 
16funding and production costs for the aforementioned 
17educational pamphlets for distribution to each county clerk 
18shall be provided by non-profit, non-sectarian statewide 
19programs that provide education, advocacy, support, and 
20prevention services pertaining to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. 
21    County clerks must establish a process within 6 months or 
22sooner after the effective date of this amendatory Act to 
23allow a party or parties to appear by using an electronic 
24communication device to participate in any video conferencing 
25application in which the party or parties may be seen and heard 
26by the county clerk in real time. 
 
 
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1(Source: P.A. 96-1323, eff. 1-1-11.)