Full Text of SB0098 94th General Assembly
SB0098enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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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 602 and 602.1 and | 6 |
| by adding Section 601.5 as follows: | 7 |
| (750 ILCS 5/601.5 new)
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| Sec. 601.5. Training. The chief circuit judge or designated | 9 |
| presiding judge may approve 3 hours of training for guardian ad | 10 |
| litems appointed under Section 601 of this Act, professional | 11 |
| personnel appointed under Section 604 of this Act, evaluators | 12 |
| appointed under Section 604.5 of this Act, and investigators | 13 |
| appointed under Section 605 of this Act. This training shall | 14 |
| include a component on the dynamics of domestic violence and | 15 |
| its effect on parents and children.
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| (750 ILCS 5/602) (from Ch. 40, par. 602)
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| Sec. 602. Best Interest of Child.
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| (a) The court shall determine
custody in accordance with | 19 |
| the best interest of the child. The court
shall consider all | 20 |
| relevant factors including:
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| (1) the wishes of the child's parent or parents as to | 22 |
| his custody;
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| (2) the wishes of the child as to his custodian;
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| (3) the interaction and interrelationship of the child | 25 |
| with his
parent or parents, his siblings and any other | 26 |
| person who may
significantly affect the child's best | 27 |
| interest;
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| (4) the child's adjustment to his home, school and | 29 |
| community;
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| (5) the mental and physical health of all individuals | 31 |
| involved;
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| (6) the physical violence or threat of physical | 2 |
| violence by the child's
potential custodian, whether | 3 |
| directed against the child or directed against
another | 4 |
| person;
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| (7) the occurrence of ongoing or repeated abuse as | 6 |
| defined in Section 103 of the
Illinois Domestic Violence | 7 |
| Act of 1986, whether directed against the child
or directed | 8 |
| against another person; and
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| (8) the willingness and ability of each parent to | 10 |
| facilitate and
encourage a close and continuing | 11 |
| relationship between the other parent
and the child.
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| In the case of a custody proceeding in which a stepparent | 13 |
| has standing
under Section 601, it is presumed to be in the | 14 |
| best interest of the minor child
that the natural parent have | 15 |
| the custody of the minor child unless the
presumption is | 16 |
| rebutted by the stepparent.
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| (b) The court shall not consider conduct of a present or | 18 |
| proposed
custodian that does not affect his relationship to the | 19 |
| child.
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| (c) Unless the court finds the occurrence of ongoing abuse | 21 |
| as defined
in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act | 22 |
| of 1986, the court
shall presume that the maximum involvement | 23 |
| and cooperation
of both parents regarding the physical, mental, | 24 |
| moral, and emotional
well-being of
their child is in the best | 25 |
| interest of the child. There shall be no
presumption in favor | 26 |
| of or against joint custody.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-782, eff. 8-14-98.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/602.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 602.1)
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| Sec. 602.1. (a) The dissolution of marriage, the | 30 |
| declaration of
invalidity of marriage, the legal separation of | 31 |
| the parents, or the parents
living separate and apart shall not | 32 |
| diminish parental powers, rights, and
responsibilities except | 33 |
| as the court for good reason may determine under
the standards | 34 |
| of Section 602.
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| (b) Upon the application of either or both parents, or upon |
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| its own motion,
the court shall consider an award of joint | 2 |
| custody. Joint custody means
custody determined pursuant to a | 3 |
| Joint Parenting Agreement or a Joint Parenting
Order. In such | 4 |
| cases, the court shall initially request the parents to produce
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| a Joint Parenting Agreement. Such Agreement shall specify each | 6 |
| parent's
powers, rights and responsibilities for the personal | 7 |
| care of the child and
for major decisions such as education, | 8 |
| health care, and religious training.
The Agreement shall | 9 |
| further specify a procedure by which proposed changes,
disputes | 10 |
| and alleged breaches may be mediated or otherwise resolved and
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| shall provide for a periodic review of its terms by the | 12 |
| parents. In
producing a Joint Parenting Agreement, the parents | 13 |
| shall be flexible in
arriving at resolutions which further the | 14 |
| policy of this State as expressed
in Sections 102 and 602. For | 15 |
| the purpose of assisting the court in making
a determination | 16 |
| whether an award of joint custody is appropriate, the court
may | 17 |
| order mediation and may direct that an investigation be | 18 |
| conducted
pursuant to the provisions of Section 605. If there | 19 |
| is a danger to the health or safety of a partner, joint | 20 |
| mediation shall not be required by the court. In the event the | 21 |
| parents fail
to produce a Joint Parenting Agreement, the court | 22 |
| may enter an appropriate
Joint Parenting Order under the | 23 |
| standards of Section 602 which shall
specify and contain the | 24 |
| same elements as a Joint Parenting Agreement, or it
may award | 25 |
| sole custody under the standards of Sections 602, 607, and 608.
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| (c) The court may enter an order of joint custody if it | 27 |
| determines
that joint custody would be in the best interests of | 28 |
| the child, taking into
account the following:
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| (1) the ability of the parents to cooperate effectively | 30 |
| and
consistently in matters that directly affect the joint | 31 |
| parenting of the child.
"Ability of the parents
to | 32 |
| cooperate" means the parents' capacity to substantially | 33 |
| comply with a Joint
Parenting Order. The court shall not | 34 |
| consider the inability of the parents to
cooperate | 35 |
| effectively and consistently in matters that do not | 36 |
| directly affect
the joint parenting of the child;
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| (2) The residential circumstances of each parent; and
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| (3) all other factors which may be relevant to the best | 3 |
| interest of the
child.
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| (d) Nothing within this section shall imply or presume that | 5 |
| joint
custody shall necessarily mean equal parenting time. The | 6 |
| physical
residence of the child in joint custodial situations | 7 |
| shall be determined by:
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| (1) express agreement of the parties; or
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| (2) order of the court under the standards of this | 10 |
| Section.
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| (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, access to | 12 |
| records and
information pertaining to a child, including but | 13 |
| not limited to medical,
dental, child care and school records, | 14 |
| shall not be denied to a parent for
the reason that such parent | 15 |
| is not the child's custodial parent; however,
no parent shall | 16 |
| have access to the school records of a child if the parent
is | 17 |
| prohibited by an order of protection from inspecting or | 18 |
| obtaining such
records pursuant to the Illinois Domestic | 19 |
| Violence Act of 1986, as now or
hereafter amended.
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| (Source: P.A. 88-409.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 22 |
| becoming law.
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