Full Text of SB2143 95th General Assembly
SB2143 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB2143
Introduced 2/14/2008, by Sen. Matt Murphy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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750 ILCS 5/601 |
from Ch. 40, par. 601 |
750 ILCS 5/604 |
from Ch. 40, par. 604 |
750 ILCS 5/604.5 |
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Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Requires 3 hours of domestic violence training for: a guardian ad litem in a custody proceeding; a professional from whom the court seeks advice; and an evaluator in a proceeding for custody, visitation, or removal of a child from
Illinois. Provides that the training in domestic violence and its effects shall be provided by a State-certified local domestic violence shelter or domestic violence counselor. Provides that after completion of the training, the participant shall file a training certificate with the clerk of the court. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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SB2143 |
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SRS095 00014 JEJ 20014 b |
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| AN ACT concerning civil law.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of | 5 |
| Marriage Act is amended by changing Sections 601, 604, and | 6 |
| 604.5 as follows:
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| (750 ILCS 5/601) (from Ch. 40, par. 601)
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| Sec. 601. Jurisdiction; Commencement of Proceeding.
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| (a) A court of this State competent to decide child custody | 10 |
| matters has
jurisdiction to make a child custody determination | 11 |
| in original or modification
proceedings as provided in Section | 12 |
| 201 of the Uniform
Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement | 13 |
| Act as
adopted by this State.
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| (b) A child custody proceeding is commenced in the court:
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| (1) by a parent, by filing a petition:
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| (i) for dissolution of marriage or legal | 17 |
| separation or declaration
of invalidity of marriage; | 18 |
| or
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| (ii) for custody of the child, in the county in | 20 |
| which he is
permanently resident or found;
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| (2) by a person other than a parent, by filing a | 22 |
| petition for
custody of the child in the county in which he | 23 |
| is permanently resident
or found, but only if he is not in |
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SRS095 00014 JEJ 20014 b |
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| the physical custody of one of his
parents; or
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| (3) by a stepparent, by filing a petition, if all of | 3 |
| the following
circumstances are met:
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| (A) the child is at least 12 years old;
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| (B) the custodial parent and stepparent were | 6 |
| married for at least 5
years during which the child | 7 |
| resided with the parent and stepparent;
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| (C) the custodial parent is deceased or is disabled | 9 |
| and cannot perform
the duties of a parent to the child;
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| (D) the stepparent provided for the care, control, | 11 |
| and welfare to the
child prior to the initiation of | 12 |
| custody proceedings;
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| (E) the child wishes to live with the stepparent; | 14 |
| and
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| (F) it is alleged to be in the best interests and | 16 |
| welfare of the
child to live with the stepparent as | 17 |
| provided in Section 602 of this Act. | 18 |
| (4) When one of the parents is deceased, by a | 19 |
| grandparent who is a parent or stepparent of a deceased | 20 |
| parent, by filing a petition, if one or more of the | 21 |
| following existed at the time of the parent's death: | 22 |
| (A) the surviving parent had been absent from the | 23 |
| marital abode for more than one month without the | 24 |
| deceased spouse knowing his or her whereabouts; | 25 |
| (B) the surviving parent was in State or federal | 26 |
| custody; or |
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| (C) the surviving parent had: (i) received | 2 |
| supervision for or been convicted of any violation of | 3 |
| Article 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961 directed | 4 |
| towards the deceased parent or the child; or (ii) | 5 |
| received supervision or been convicted of violating an | 6 |
| order of protection entered under Section 217, 218, or | 7 |
| 219 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 for | 8 |
| the protection of the deceased parent or the child.
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| (c) Notice of a child custody proceeding, including an | 10 |
| action
for modification of a previous custody order, shall be | 11 |
| given to the
child's parents, guardian and custodian, who may | 12 |
| appear, be heard, and
file a responsive pleading. The court, | 13 |
| upon showing of good cause, may
permit intervention of other | 14 |
| interested parties.
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| (d) Proceedings for modification of a previous custody | 16 |
| order
commenced more than 30 days following the entry of a | 17 |
| previous custody order
must be initiated by serving a written | 18 |
| notice and a copy of the petition
for modification upon the | 19 |
| child's parent, guardian and custodian at least
30 days prior | 20 |
| to hearing on the petition. Nothing in this Section shall
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| preclude a party in custody modification proceedings from | 22 |
| moving for a
temporary order under Section 603 of this Act.
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| (e) (Blank). | 24 |
| (f) The court shall, at the court's discretion or upon the | 25 |
| request of any party entitled to petition for custody of the | 26 |
| child, appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the best |
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| interest of the child for the duration of the custody | 2 |
| proceeding or for any modifications of any custody orders | 3 |
| entered. Prior to appointment by the court, a guardian ad litem | 4 |
| must have completed 3 hours of training in domestic violence | 5 |
| and its effects on the partner and the child, provided by a | 6 |
| State-certified local domestic violence shelter or by a person | 7 |
| who has completed the 40-hour training to become a domestic | 8 |
| violence counselor, and must have registered a certificate of | 9 |
| completion of the training with the clerk of the court. Nothing | 10 |
| in this Section shall be construed to prevent the court from | 11 |
| appointing the same guardian ad litem for 2 or more children | 12 |
| that are siblings or half-siblings.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-108, eff. 1-1-04; 93-1026, eff. 1-1-05.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/604) (from Ch. 40, par. 604)
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| Sec. 604. Interviews.) (a) The court may interview the | 16 |
| child in chambers
to ascertain the child's wishes as to his | 17 |
| custodian and as to visitation.
Counsel shall be present at the | 18 |
| interview unless otherwise agreed upon by
the parties. The | 19 |
| court shall cause a court reporter to be present who shall
make | 20 |
| a complete record of the interview instantaneously to be part | 21 |
| of the
record in the case.
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| (b) The court may seek the advice of professional | 23 |
| personnel, whether or
not employed by the court on a regular | 24 |
| basis. Prior to rendering any advice to the court, any | 25 |
| professional must have completed 3 hours of training in |
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| domestic violence and its effects on the partner and the child, | 2 |
| provided by a State-certified local domestic violence shelter | 3 |
| or by a person who has completed the 40-hour training to become | 4 |
| a domestic violence counselor, and must have registered a | 5 |
| certificate of completion of the training with the clerk of the | 6 |
| court. The advice given shall be
in writing and made available | 7 |
| by the court to counsel. Counsel may examine,
as a witness, any | 8 |
| professional personnel consulted by the court, designated
as a | 9 |
| court's witness.
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| (Source: P.A. 80-923.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/604.5)
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| Sec. 604.5. Evaluation of child's best interest.
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| (a) In a proceeding for custody, visitation, or removal of | 14 |
| a child from
Illinois, upon notice
and motion made within a | 15 |
| reasonable time before trial, the court may order an
evaluation | 16 |
| concerning the best interest of the child as it relates to | 17 |
| custody,
visitation, or removal. Prior to appointment by the | 18 |
| court, an evaluator must have completed 3 hours of training in | 19 |
| domestic violence and its effects on the partner and the child, | 20 |
| provided by a State-certified local domestic violence shelter | 21 |
| or by a person who has completed the 40-hour training to become | 22 |
| a domestic violence counselor, and must have registered a | 23 |
| certificate of completion of the training with the clerk of the | 24 |
| court. The motion may be made by a party, a parent, the
child's
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| custodian, the attorney for the child, the child's guardian ad |
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| litem, or the
child's representative. The requested evaluation | 2 |
| may be in place of or in
addition to an evaluation conducted | 3 |
| under subsection (b) of Section 604.
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| The
motion shall state the identity of the proposed | 5 |
| evaluator and set forth the
evaluator's specialty or | 6 |
| discipline. The court may refuse to
order an evaluation by the | 7 |
| proposed evaluator, but in that event, the court may
permit the | 8 |
| party seeking the evaluation to propose one or more other
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| evaluators.
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| (b) An order for an evaluation shall fix the time, place, | 11 |
| conditions, and
scope of the evaluation and shall designate the | 12 |
| evaluator.
A party or person shall not be required to travel an | 13 |
| unreasonable distance for
the evaluation.
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| (c) The person requesting an evaluator shall pay the fee | 15 |
| for the evaluation
unless otherwise ordered by the court.
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| (d) Within 21 days after the completion of the evaluation, | 17 |
| if the moving
party or person intends to call the evaluator as | 18 |
| a witness, the evaluator shall
prepare and mail or deliver to | 19 |
| the attorneys of record duplicate originals of
the written | 20 |
| evaluation. The evaluation shall set forth the evaluator's
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| findings, the results
of all tests administered, and the | 22 |
| evaluator's conclusions and recommendations.
If
the
written | 23 |
| evaluation is not delivered or mailed to the attorneys within | 24 |
| 21 days
or within any extensions or modifications granted by | 25 |
| the court, the written
evaluation and the evaluator's | 26 |
| testimony, conclusions, and recommendations may
not be |
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| received into evidence.
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| (e) The person calling an evaluator to testify at trial
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| shall
disclose the evaluator as an opinion
witness in | 4 |
| accordance with the Supreme Court Rules.
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| (f) Subject to compliance with the Supreme
Court Rules, | 6 |
| nothing in this Section bars a person who did not request the
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| evaluation from calling the evaluator as a witness. In that | 8 |
| case, however,
that person shall
pay the evaluator's fee for | 9 |
| testifying unless otherwise ordered by the
court.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-746, eff. 6-2-00.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 12 |
| becoming law.
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