Child Law

(Mulroe, D-Chicago; Andersson, R-Geneva) is a trailer bill to resolve technical concerns in the rewrite of the fines and costs statutes in the just enacted Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act. Effective July 1, 2019. 

(Andersson, R-Geneva; Mulroe, D-Chicago) creates the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act. The Act would standardize court-filing fees and fines into 13 schedules of potential assessments for criminal and traffic offenses and four schedules for civil court cases. The Act also caps the maximum amount of money that can be assessed under each schedule and for various services or filings within the court process. The money collected under these assessment schedules would then be distributed at the state, county, and local levels for officials to decide how to best allocate their portion for maintaining the courts. It would also provide a sliding-scale waiver for some civil litigants and criminal defendants depending on their income relative to the federal poverty level. It has an immediate effective date for part of it and a delayed effective date for most of it.

(Bush, D-Grayslake; Cassidy, D-Chicago) allows a court to waive the notice and publication requirement to change a person's name if the person files a written declaration that they believe that publishing their name change would put them at risk of physical harm or discrimination. The movant must provide evidence to support this claim. Effective January 1, 2019

(Hastings, D-Frankfort; Kelly Burke, D-Oak Lawn) reconciles the maintenance guidelines with the recently enacted federal law that repeals the alimony tax deduction for all new cases after January 1, 2019. The statute will include two versions because the new federal law grandfathers in the deductibility and taxability of pre-2019 maintenance payments and their subsequent modification. The formula for new cases is 33 1/3% of the payor’s annual net income minus 25% of the recipient’s annual net income, not to exceed 40% of the parties’ combined annual net income. Makes other related maintenance changes to the IMDMA. Effective January 1, 2019

(Morrison, D-Deerfield; Olsen, R-Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to provide that an "order of protection status" includes status as a person protected under the Protective Orders Article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, the Stalking No Contact Order Act and the Civil No Contact Order Act. Effective January 1, 2019. 
 

(Feigenholtz, D-Chicago; Hunter, D-Chicago) amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 and the Protective Orders Article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. It adds to the list of protected persons any of the following persons abused by a family or household member of a child: (1) a foster parent of that child if the child has been placed in the foster parent's home by the Department of Children and Family Services or by another state's public child welfare agency; (2) a legally appointed guardian or legally appointed custodian of that child; (3) an adoptive parent of that child; or (4) a prospective adoptive parent of that child if the child has been placed in the prospective adoptive parent's home pursuant to the Adoption Act or pursuant to another state's law. Authorizes these persons to file a petition for an order of protection. Effective January 1, 2019. 

(Connelly, R-Naperville; Batinick, R-Plainfield) permits a petition for non-parent visitation in parentage to be established by court order or a VAP. (VAPs are omitted from the current statute.) Senate Bill 2498 also provides that if the petitioner is a grandparent or great-grandparent, the parent-child relationship need be legally established only with respect to the parent who is related to the grandparent or great-grandparent. Provides that if the petitioner is a step-parent, the parent-child relationship need be legally established only with respect to the parent who is married to the petitioner or was married to the petitioner immediately before the parent’s death. Effective January 1, 2019.