Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Termination of Parental Rights
Court erred in finding Respondent father unfit to care for his daughter and that it was in best interest of minor that his parental rights be terminated. Court's findings on both grounds (failure to make reasonable progress toward return home, and failure to maintain reasonable degree of interest or concern for minor's welfare were against manifest weight of evidence. Failing to complete a task beyond one's intellectual capacity is not the same as refusing to comply with court-ordered directives and willfully failing to make reasonable efforts or maintaining reasonable degree of interest in child. Court was required to consider father's conduct in light of circumstances facing him, and no modifications to services were made to allow father to be compliant with tasks given his intellectual deficits. Finding of unfitness does not necessarily mean that parental rights should be terminated. (McDADE, concurring; SCHMIDT, dissenting.)