Public Act 097-0659
 
HB1589 EnrolledLRB097 05412 AJO 45470 b


  
    AN ACT concerning civil law.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of 
Marriage Act is amended  by changing Sections 603, 606, 607, and 
610 as follows:
 



    (750 ILCS 5/603)  (from Ch. 40, par. 603)



    Sec. 603. Temporary Orders. 

    (a) A party to a custody proceeding, including a proceeding 
to modify
custody, may move for a temporary custody order. The 
court may award temporary
custody under the standards of 
Section 602, and the standards and procedures of
Section 602.1, 
and the provisions of subsection (f) of Section 610 after a 
hearing, or, if there is no objection, solely on the
basis of 
the affidavits or the agreement of the parties if the court 
finds that the parties' agreement is in the best interest of 
the child.

    (b) If a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal 
separation or
declaration of invalidity of marriage is 
dismissed, any temporary custody
order is vacated unless a 
parent or the child's custodian moves that the
proceeding 
continue as a custody proceeding and the court finds, after a

hearing, that the circumstances of the parents and the best 
interest of the
child requires that a custody judgment be 
issued.

    (c) If a custody proceeding commenced in the absence of a 
petition for
dissolution of marriage or legal separation, under 
either subparagraph (ii) of
paragraph (1), or paragraph (2), of 
subsection (d) of Section 601, is
dismissed, any temporary 
custody order is vacated.

(Source: P.A. 86-530; 87-1255.)

 



    (750 ILCS 5/606)  (from Ch. 40, par. 606)



    Sec. 606. Hearings. 

    (a) Custody proceedings shall receive priority in
being set 
for hearing.

    (b) The court may tax as costs the payment of necessary 
travel and other
expenses incurred by any person whose presence 
at the hearing the court
deems necessary to determine the best 
interest of the child.

    (c) The court, without a jury, shall determine questions of 
law and fact.
If it finds that a public hearing may be 
detrimental to the child's best
interest, the court may exclude 
the public from a custody hearing, but may
admit any person who 
has a direct and legitimate interest in the particular
case or 
a legitimate educational or research interest in the work of 
the court.

    (d) If the court finds it necessary, in order to protect 
the child's
welfare,
that the record of any interview, report, 
investigation, or testimony in a
custody
proceeding be kept 
secret, the court may make an appropriate order sealing the

record.

    (e) Previous statements made by the child relating to any 
allegations
that the child is an abused or neglected child 
within the meaning of the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting 
Act, or an abused or neglected minor
within the meaning of the 
Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall be admissible
in evidence in 
a hearing concerning custody of or visitation with the
child.  
No such statement, however, if uncorroborated and not subject 
to
cross-examination, shall be sufficient in itself to support 
a finding of
abuse or neglect.

    (f) Custody and visitation proceedings in which a parent is 
a member of the United States Armed Forces who is deployed or 
who has orders to be deployed shall, upon the request of either 
party or on the court's own motion receive expedited priority 
in being set for hearing.
    (g) In any custody or visitation proceeding in which a 
parent is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is 
deployed or who has orders to be deployed, the court shall, 
upon a request of the service member, permit the deployed 
parent who is unavailable to appear for the proceeding to 
testify by telephone, audiovisual means, or other electronic 
means.  The court shall cooperate with the deployed parent in 
designating an appropriate location for the testimony. 
(Source: P.A. 87-1081.)

 



    (750 ILCS 5/607)  (from Ch. 40, par. 607)


    Sec. 607. Visitation. 

    (a) A parent not granted custody of the child
is entitled 
to reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds,
after a 
hearing, that visitation would endanger seriously the child's

physical, mental, moral or emotional health.  If the custodian's 
street
address is not identified, pursuant to Section 708, the 
court shall require
the parties to identify reasonable 
alternative arrangements for visitation
 by a non-custodial 
parent, including but not limited to visitation  of the
minor 
child at the residence of another person or at a local public 
or
private facility.

        (1) "Visitation" means in-person time spent between a 
    child and the child's parent. In appropriate 
    circumstances, it may include electronic communication 
    under conditions and at times determined by the court.
        (2) "Electronic communication" means time that a 
    parent spends with his or her child during which the child 
    is not in the parent's actual physical custody, but which 
    is facilitated by the use of communication tools such as 
    the telephone, electronic mail, instant messaging, video 
    conferencing or other wired or wireless technologies via 
    the Internet, or another medium of communication.

    (a-3) Grandparents, great-grandparents, and siblings of a 
minor child, who is one year old or older, have standing to 
bring an action in circuit court by petition, requesting 
visitation in accordance with this Section. The term "sibling" 
in this Section means a brother, sister, stepbrother, or 
stepsister of the minor child. Grandparents, 
great-grandparents, and siblings also have standing to file a 
petition for visitation and any electronic communication

rights in a pending dissolution proceeding or any other 
proceeding that involves custody or visitation issues, 
requesting visitation in accordance with this Section.  A 
petition for visitation with a child by a person other than a 
parent must be filed in the county in which the child resides. 
Nothing in this subsection (a-3) and subsection (a-5) of this 
Section shall apply to a child in whose interests a petition is 
pending under Section 2-13 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or 
a petition to adopt an unrelated child is pending under the 
Adoption Act.
    (a-5)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection 
(a-5), any grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling may file 
a
petition for
visitation rights to a minor child if there is 
an unreasonable denial of visitation by a parent and at least 
one
of the
following conditions exists:
        (A) (Blank);
        (A-5) the child's other parent is deceased or has been 
    missing for at least 3 months.  For the purposes of this 
    Section a parent is considered to be missing if the 
    parent's location has not been determined and the parent 
    has been reported as missing to a law enforcement agency;

        (A-10) a parent of the child is incompetent as a matter 
    of law;

        (A-15) a parent has been incarcerated in jail or prison 
    during the 3 month period preceding the filing of the 
    petition;

        (B) the child's mother and father are divorced or have 
    been legally separated from
each other or there is pending 
    a dissolution proceeding involving a parent of the child or 
    another court proceeding involving custody or visitation 
    of the child (other than any adoption proceeding of an 
    unrelated child) and at least one parent does not object to 
    the grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling having 
    visitation with the child. The visitation of the 
    grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling must not 
    diminish the visitation of the parent who is not related to 
    the grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling seeking 
    visitation;
        (C) (Blank);
        (D) the child is born out of wedlock, the parents are 
    not living together, and the petitioner is a maternal 
    grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the child 
    born out of wedlock; or
        (E) the child is born out of wedlock, the parents are 
    not living together, the petitioner is a paternal 
    grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling, and the 
    paternity has been established by a court of competent 
    jurisdiction.
    (2) Any visitation rights granted pursuant to this Section 
before the filing of a petition for adoption of a child shall 
automatically terminate by operation of law upon the entry of 
an order terminating parental rights or granting the adoption 
of the child, whichever is earlier.  If the person or persons 
who adopted the child are related to the child, as defined by 
Section 1 of the Adoption Act, any person who was related to 
the child as grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling prior 
to the adoption shall have standing to bring an action pursuant 
to this Section requesting visitation with the child.


    (3) In making a determination under this subsection (a-5), 
there is a
rebuttable
presumption that a fit parent's actions 
and decisions regarding grandparent,
great-grandparent, or 
sibling visitation are not harmful to the child's mental, 
physical, or emotional health. The
burden is on the
party 
filing a petition under this Section to prove that the
parent's 
actions and
decisions regarding visitation times are harmful to 
the child's mental, physical, or emotional health.
    (4)  In determining whether to grant visitation, the court 
shall consider the following:

        (A) the preference of the child if the child is 
    determined to be of sufficient maturity to express a 
    preference;
        (B) the mental and physical health of the child;
        (C) the mental and physical health of the grandparent, 
    great-grandparent, or sibling;
        (D) the length and quality of the prior relationship 
    between the child and the grandparent, great-grandparent, 
    or sibling;

        (E) the good faith of the party in filing the petition;

        (F) the good faith of the person denying visitation;
        (G) the quantity of the visitation time requested and 
    the potential adverse impact that visitation would have on 
    the child's customary activities;
        (H) whether the child resided with the petitioner for 
    at least
6 consecutive months with or without the current 
    custodian present;
        (I) whether the petitioner had frequent or regular 
    contact or visitation with the child for at least 12 
    consecutive months;


        (J) any other fact that establishes that the loss of 
    the relationship between the petitioner and the child is 
    likely to harm the child's mental, physical, or emotional 
    health; and
        (K) whether the grandparent, great-grandparent, or 
    sibling was a primary caretaker of the child for a period 
    of not less than 6 consecutive months.

    (5)  The court may order visitation rights for the 
grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling that include 
reasonable access without requiring overnight or possessory 
visitation.

    (a-7)(1) Unless by stipulation of the parties, no motion to 
modify a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling visitation 
order may be made earlier than 2 years after the date the order 
was filed, unless the court permits it to be made on the basis 
of affidavits that there is reason to believe the child's 
present environment may endanger seriously the child's mental, 
physical, or emotional health.
    (2) The court shall not modify an order that grants 
visitation to a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling 
unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence, upon the 
basis of facts that have arisen since the prior visitation 
order or that were unknown to the court at the time of entry of 
the prior visitation, that a change has occurred in the 
circumstances of the child or his or her custodian, and that 
the modification is necessary to protect the mental, physical, 
or emotional health of the child. The court shall state in its 
decision specific findings of fact in support of its 
modification or termination of the grandparent, 
great-grandparent, or sibling visitation. A child's parent may 
always petition to modify visitation upon changed  
circumstances when necessary to promote the child's best 
interest.
    (3) Attorney fees and costs shall be assessed against a 
party seeking modification of the visitation order if the court 
finds that the modification action is vexatious and constitutes 
harassment.
    (4) Notice under this subsection (a-7) shall be given as 
provided in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 601.

    (b) (1) (Blank.)

    (1.5) The Court may grant reasonable visitation privileges 
to a stepparent
upon petition to the court by the stepparent, 
with notice to the parties
required to be notified under 
Section 601 of this Act, if the court determines
that it is in 
the best interests and welfare of the child, and may issue any

necessary orders to enforce those visitation privileges.
A 
petition for visitation privileges may be filed under this 
paragraph (1.5)
whether or not a petition pursuant to this Act 
has been previously filed or is
currently pending if the 
following
circumstances are met:


        (A) the child is at least 12 years old;


        (B) the child resided continuously with the parent and 
    stepparent for at
least 5 years;


        (C) the parent is deceased or is disabled and is unable 
    to care for the
child;


        (D) the child wishes to have reasonable visitation with 
    the stepparent;
and


        (E) the stepparent was providing for the care, control, 
    and welfare to the
child prior to the initiation of the 
    petition for visitation.

    (2)(A) A petition for visitation privileges shall not be 
filed pursuant
to this subsection (b) by the parents or 
grandparents of a putative father
if the paternity of the 
putative father has not been legally established.

    (B) A petition for visitation privileges may not be filed 
under
this subsection (b) if the child who is the subject of 
the
grandparents' or great-grandparents' petition has been 
voluntarily
surrendered by the parent or parents, except for a 
surrender to the
Illinois Department of Children and Family 
Services or a foster care
facility, or has been previously 
adopted by an individual or individuals
who are not related to 
the biological parents of the child or is the
subject of a 
pending adoption petition by an individual or individuals who

are not related to the biological parents of the child.

    (3) (Blank).

    (c) The court may modify an order granting or denying 
visitation
rights of a parent whenever modification would serve 
the best interest of
the child;
but the court shall  not 
restrict a parent's visitation rights unless it
finds that the 
visitation would endanger seriously the child's physical,

mental, moral or emotional health.


    (d) If any court has entered an order prohibiting a 
non-custodial parent
of a child from any contact with a child

or restricting the non-custodial parent's contact with the 
child, the
following provisions shall apply:


        (1) If an order has been entered granting visitation 
    privileges with the
child to a grandparent or 
    great-grandparent who is related to the child through
the 
    non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges of the 
    grandparent or
great-grandparent may be revoked if:


            (i) a court has entered an order prohibiting the 
        non-custodial parent
from any contact with the child, 
        and the grandparent or great-grandparent is
found to 
        have used his or her visitation privileges to 
        facilitate contact
between the child and the 
        non-custodial parent; or


            (ii) a court has entered an order restricting the 
        non-custodial parent's
contact with the child, and the 
        grandparent or great-grandparent is found to
have used 
        his or her visitation privileges to facilitate contact

        between the child and the non-custodial parent in a 
        manner that violates the
terms of the order restricting 
        the non-custodial parent's contact with the
child.


        Nothing in this subdivision (1) limits the authority of 
    the court to
enforce its orders in any manner permitted by 
    law.


        (2) Any order granting visitation privileges with the 
    child to a
grandparent or great-grandparent who is related 
    to the child through the
non-custodial parent shall contain 
    the following provision:


        "If the (grandparent or great-grandparent, whichever 
    is applicable) who has
been granted visitation privileges 
    under this order uses the visitation
privileges to 
    facilitate contact between the child and the child's

    non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges granted 
    under this order shall
be permanently revoked."

    (e) No parent, not granted custody of the child, or 
grandparent, or
great-grandparent, or stepparent, or sibling 
of any minor child, convicted
of any offense
involving an 
illegal sex act perpetrated upon a victim less than 18 years of

age including but not limited to offenses for violations of 
Article 12 of the
Criminal Code of 1961, is entitled to 
visitation rights while incarcerated
or while on parole, 
probation, conditional discharge, periodic
imprisonment, or

mandatory supervised release for that offense, and upon 
discharge from
incarceration for a misdemeanor offense or upon 
discharge from parole,
probation, conditional discharge, 
periodic imprisonment,
or mandatory supervised release for a 
felony offense, visitation shall be
denied until the person 
successfully completes a treatment program approved
by the 
court.

    (f) Unless the court determines, after considering all 
relevant factors,
including but not limited to those set forth 
in Section 602(a), that it would
be in the best interests of 
the child to allow visitation, the court shall not
enter an 
order providing visitation rights and pursuant to a motion to 
modify
visitation shall revoke visitation rights previously 
granted to any
person who would otherwise be entitled to 
petition for visitation rights under
this Section who has been 
convicted of first degree murder of the parent,
grandparent, 
great-grandparent, or sibling of the child who is the subject 
of
the order.  Until an order is entered pursuant to this 
subsection, no person
shall visit, with
the child present, a 
person who has been convicted of first degree murder of
the 
parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the 
child
without the consent of the child's parent, other than a 
parent convicted of
first degree murder as set forth herein, or 
legal
guardian.

    (g) (Blank).

    (h) Upon motion, the court may allow a parent who is 
deployed or who has orders to be deployed as a member of the 
United States Armed Forces to designate a person known to the 
child to exercise reasonable substitute visitation on behalf of 
the deployed parent, if the court determines that substitute 
visitation is in the best interest of the child. In determining 
whether substitute visitation is in the best interest of the 
child, the court shall consider all of the relevant factors 
listed in subsection (a) of Section 602 and apply those factors 
to the person designated as a substitute for the deployed 
parent for visitation purposes. 
(Source: P.A. 96-331, eff. 1-1-10.)

 



    (750 ILCS 5/610)  (from Ch. 40, par. 610)



    Sec. 610. Modification. 

    (a) Unless by stipulation of the parties or except as 
provided in subsection (a-5), no motion
to modify a custody 
judgment may be made earlier than 2 years after its
date, 
unless the court permits it to be made on the basis of 
affidavits
that there is reason to believe the child's present 
environment may endanger
seriously his physical, mental, moral 
or emotional health.

    (a-5) A motion to modify a custody judgment may be made at 
any time by a party who has been informed of the existence of 
facts requiring notice to be given under Section 609.5.

    (b) The court shall not modify a prior custody judgment 
unless it finds by
clear and convincing evidence, upon the 
basis of facts that have arisen since
the prior judgment or 
that were unknown to the court at the time of entry of
the 
prior judgment, that a change has occurred in the circumstances 
of the
child or his custodian, or in the case of a joint 
custody arrangement that a
change has occurred in the 
circumstances of the child or either or both parties
having 
custody, and that the modification is necessary to serve the 
best
interest of the child.  The existence of facts requiring 
notice to be given under Section 609.5 of this Act shall be 
considered a change in circumstance. In the case of joint 
custody, if the parties agree to a
termination of a joint 
custody arrangement, the court shall so terminate the
joint 
custody and make any modification which is in the child's best 
interest.
The court shall state in its decision specific 
findings of fact in support of
its modification or termination 
of joint custody if either parent opposes the
modification or 
termination.

    (c) Attorney fees and costs shall be assessed against a 
party seeking
modification if the court finds that the 
modification action is vexatious
and constitutes harassment.

    (d) Notice under this Section shall be given as provided in

subsections (c) and (d) of Section 601.

    (e) (Blank). A party's absence, relocation, or failure to 
comply with the court's orders on custody, visitation, or 
parenting time may not, by itself, be sufficient to justify a 
modification of a prior order if the reason for the absence, 
relocation, or failure to comply is the party's deployment as a 
member of the United States Armed Forces. 
    (f) A court may only provide for a temporary modification 
of a custody or visitation order during a period of a parent's 
deployment by the United States Armed Forces in order to make 
reasonable accommodations necessitated by the deployment.  The 
temporary order shall specify that deployment is the basis for 
the order and shall include provisions for:
        (1)  custody or reasonable visitation during a period of 
    leave granted to the deployed parent if the custody or 
    reasonable visitation is in the child's best interest;
        (2) if appropriate, visitation by electronic 
    communication; and 
        (3)  the court's reservation of jurisdiction to modify 
    or terminate the temporary modification order upon the 
    termination of the deployed parent's deployment upon such 
    terms and conditions as the court may deem necessary to 
    serve the child's best interest at the time of the 
    termination of the deployment. 
    (g) A party's past, current, or possible future absence or 
relocation, or failure to comply with the court's orders on 
custody, visitation, or parenting time may not, by itself, be 
sufficient to justify a modification of a prior order if the 
reason for the absence, relocation or failure to comply is the 
party's deployment as a member of the United States Armed 
Forces. 
(Source: P.A. 96-676, eff. 1-1-10.)