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| 1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | changing Section 21-101 as follows:
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| 6 | (735 ILCS 5/21-101) (from Ch. 110, par. 21-101)
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| 7 | Sec. 21-101. Proceedings; parties. If any person who is a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | resident of
this State and has resided in this State for 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | months desires to change his
or her name and to assume another | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | name by which to be afterwards called and
known, the the person | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | may file a petition in the circuit court of the county
wherein | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | he or she resides praying for that relief. If it appears to the
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| 13 | court that the conditions hereinafter mentioned have been | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | complied with and
that there is no reason why the prayer should | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | not be granted, the court, by
an order to be entered of record, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | may direct and provide that the name of
that person be changed | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | in accordance with the prayer in the petition. The
filing of a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | petition in accordance with this Section shall be the sole and
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| 19 | exclusive means by which any person committed under the laws of | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | this State
to a penal institution may change his or her name | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | and assume another
name. However, any person convicted of a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | felony in this State or any other
state
who has not been | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | pardoned may not file a
petition for a name change until 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | years have passed since completion and
discharge from his or | ||||||
| 2 | her sentence. A person who has been convicted of identity | ||||||
| 3 | theft, aggravated identity theft, felony or misdemeanor | ||||||
| 4 | criminal
sexual abuse when the victim of the offense at the | ||||||
| 5 | time of its commission is
under 18 years of age, felony or | ||||||
| 6 | misdemeanor sexual exploitation of a child, felony or | ||||||
| 7 | misdemeanor
indecent solicitation of a child, or felony or | ||||||
| 8 | misdemeanor indecent solicitation of an
adult, or any other | ||||||
| 9 | offense for which a person is required to register under the | ||||||
| 10 | Sex Offender Registration Act in this State or any other state | ||||||
| 11 | who has not been pardoned shall not be permitted to file a | ||||||
| 12 | petition for a name change in the courts of Illinois. A | ||||||
| 13 | petitioner may include his or her
spouse
and adult unmarried | ||||||
| 14 | children,
with their consent, and his or her minor children | ||||||
| 15 | where it appears to the
court that it is for their best | ||||||
| 16 | interest, in the petition and prayer, and
the court's order | ||||||
| 17 | shall then include the spouse and children. Whenever any
minor | ||||||
| 18 | has resided in the family of any person for the space of 3 | ||||||
| 19 | years
and has been recognized and known as an adopted child in | ||||||
| 20 | the family of
that person, the application herein provided for | ||||||
| 21 | may be made by the person
having that minor in his or her | ||||||
| 22 | family.
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| 23 | An order shall be entered as to a minor only if the court | ||||||
| 24 | finds by
clear and convincing evidence that the change is | ||||||
| 25 | necessary to serve the
best interest of the child. In | ||||||
| 26 | determining the best interest of a minor
child under this | ||||||
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| 1 | Section, the court shall consider all relevant factors,
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| 2 | including:
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| 3 | (1) The wishes of the child's parents and any person | ||||||
| 4 | acting as a parent
who has physical custody of the child.
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| 5 | (2) The wishes of the child and the reasons for those | ||||||
| 6 | wishes. The
court may interview the child in chambers to | ||||||
| 7 | ascertain the child's wishes
with respect to the change of | ||||||
| 8 | name. Counsel shall be present at the
interview unless | ||||||
| 9 | otherwise agreed upon by the parties. The court shall
cause | ||||||
| 10 | a court reporter to be present who shall make a complete | ||||||
| 11 | record of
the interview instantaneously to be part of the | ||||||
| 12 | record in the case.
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| 13 | (3) The interaction and interrelationship of the child | ||||||
| 14 | with his or her
parents or persons acting as parents who | ||||||
| 15 | have physical custody of the
child, step-parents, | ||||||
| 16 | siblings, step-siblings, or any other person who may
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| 17 | significantly affect the child's best interest.
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| 18 | (4) The child's adjustment to his or her home, school, | ||||||
| 19 | and community.
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| 20 | (Source: P.A. 94-944, eff. 1-1-07.)
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