Text of IL HB 5548 (2024)

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5548 Introduced , by Rep. Mary Beth Canty SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 750 ILCS 5/600 750 ILCS 5/602.5 750 ILCS 5/602.7 750 ILCS 5/603.10 750 ILCS 5/612 new 750 ILCS 36/102 750 ILCS 36/201 750 ILCS 36/204 750 ILCS 36/207 750 ILCS 36/208 750 ILCS 36/313.1 new Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Excludes from the definition of "abuse" obtaining, seeking, or facilitating lawful health care for a minor child by a parent or person in loco parentis. Requires the court to consider in determining parental responsibilities and parenting time a parent's affirmation of the child's gender identity or gender expression in a way that promotes the child's overall health and well-being, including accessing lawful health care. Allows a court to modify an order restricting parental responsibilities if it finds persistent, continuing interference with the child's ability to access lawful health care. Declares it to it is against the public policy of this State and shall not be enforced if a law of another state authorizes the removal of a child from the parent or acting as a parent for allowing a child to receive lawful health care. Amends the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. Provides that the presence of a child in this State for the purpose of obtaining lawful health care is sufficient to meet the jurisdiction of this State for an initial child custody determination for temporary emergency matters. Provides that this State is not an inconvenient forum if lawful health care to the child is at issue in which the law or policy of the other state that may take jurisdiction limits the ability of a parent or person acting as a parent to obtain lawful health care for the child. Effective immediately. LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b A BILL FOR HB5548LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 AN ACT concerning civil law. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of 5Marriage Act is amended by changing Sections 600, 602.5, 6602.7, and 603.10 and by adding Section 612 as follows: 7 (750 ILCS 5/600) 8 Sec. 600. Definitions. For purposes of this Part VI: 9 (a) "Abuse" has the meaning ascribed to that term in 10Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. 11"Abuse" does not include obtaining, seeking, or facilitating 12lawful health care for a minor child by a parent or person in 13loco parentis. 14 (b) "Allocation judgment" means a judgment allocating 15parental responsibilities. 16 (c) "Caretaking functions" means tasks that involve 17interaction with a child or that direct, arrange, and 18supervise the interaction with and care of a child provided by 19others, or for obtaining the resources allowing for the 20provision of these functions. The term includes, but is not 21limited to, the following: 22 (1) satisfying a child's nutritional needs; managing a 23 child's bedtime and wake-up routines; caring for a child HB5548- 2 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 when the child is sick or injured; being attentive to a 2 child's personal hygiene needs, including washing, 3 grooming, and dressing; playing with a child and ensuring 4 the child attends scheduled extracurricular activities; 5 protecting a child's physical safety; and providing 6 transportation for a child; 7 (2) directing a child's various developmental needs, 8 including the acquisition of motor and language skills, 9 toilet training, self-confidence, and maturation; 10 (3) providing discipline, giving instruction in 11 manners, assigning and supervising chores, and performing 12 other tasks that attend to a child's needs for behavioral 13 control and self-restraint; 14 (4) ensuring the child attends school, including 15 remedial and special services appropriate to the child's 16 needs and interests, communicating with teachers and 17 counselors, and supervising homework; 18 (5) helping a child develop and maintain appropriate 19 interpersonal relationships with peers, siblings, and 20 other family members; 21 (6) ensuring the child attends medical appointments 22 and is available for medical follow-up and meeting the 23 medical needs of the child in the home; 24 (7) providing moral and ethical guidance for a child; 25 and 26 (8) arranging alternative care for a child by a family HB5548- 3 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 member, babysitter, or other child care provider or 2 facility, including investigating such alternatives, 3 communicating with providers, and supervising such care. 4 "Lawful health care" has the meaning ascribed to that term 5in the Lawful Health Care Activity Act. 6 (e) (d) "Parental responsibilities" means both parenting 7time and significant decision-making responsibilities with 8respect to a child. 9 (f) (e) "Parenting time" means the time during which a 10parent is responsible for exercising caretaking functions and 11non-significant decision-making responsibilities with respect 12to the child. 13 (g) (f) "Parenting plan" means a written agreement that 14allocates significant decision-making responsibilities, 15parenting time, or both. 16 (h) (g) "Relocation" means: 17 (1) a change of residence from the child's current 18 primary residence located in the county of Cook, DuPage, 19 Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will to a new residence within 20 this State that is more than 25 miles from the child's 21 current residence, as measured by an Internet mapping 22 service; 23 (2) a change of residence from the child's current 24 primary residence located in a county not listed in 25 paragraph (1) to a new residence within this State that is 26 more than 50 miles from the child's current primary HB5548- 4 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 residence, as measured by an Internet mapping service; or 2 (3) a change of residence from the child's current 3 primary residence to a residence outside the borders of 4 this State that is more than 25 miles from the current 5 primary residence, as measured by an Internet mapping 6 service. 7 (i) (h) "Religious upbringing" means the choice of religion 8or denomination of a religion, religious schooling, religious 9training, or participation in religious customs or practices. 10 (j) (i) "Restriction of parenting time" means any 11limitation or condition placed on parenting time, including 12supervision. 13 (k) (j) "Right of first refusal" has the meaning provided 14in subsection (b) of Section 602.3 of this Act. 15 (l) (k) "Significant decision-making" means deciding 16issues of long-term importance in the life of a child. 17 (m) (l) "Step-parent" means a person married to a child's 18parent, including a person married to the child's parent 19immediately prior to the parent's death. 20 (n) (m) "Supervision" means the presence of a third party 21during a parent's exercise of parenting time. 22(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16; 99-763, eff. 1-1-17.) 23 (750 ILCS 5/602.5) 24 Sec. 602.5. Allocation of parental responsibilities: 25decision-making. HB5548- 5 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (a) Generally. The court shall allocate decision-making 2responsibilities according to the child's best interests. 3Nothing in this Act requires that each parent be allocated 4decision-making responsibilities. 5 (b) Allocation of significant decision-making 6responsibilities. Unless the parents otherwise agree in 7writing on an allocation of significant decision-making 8responsibilities, or the issue of the allocation of parental 9responsibilities has been reserved under Section 401, the 10court shall make the determination. The court shall allocate 11to one or both of the parents the significant decision-making 12responsibility for each significant issue affecting the child. 13Those significant issues shall include, without limitation, 14the following: 15 (1) Education, including the choice of schools and 16 tutors. 17 (2) Health, including all decisions relating to the 18 medical, dental, and psychological needs of the child and 19 to the treatments arising or resulting from those needs. 20 (3) Religion, subject to the following provisions: 21 (A) The court shall allocate decision-making 22 responsibility for the child's religious upbringing in 23 accordance with any express or implied agreement 24 between the parents. 25 (B) The court shall consider evidence of the 26 parents' past conduct as to the child's religious HB5548- 6 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 upbringing in allocating decision-making 2 responsibilities consistent with demonstrated past 3 conduct in the absence of an express or implied 4 agreement between the parents. 5 (C) The court shall not allocate any aspect of the 6 child's religious upbringing if it determines that the 7 parents do not or did not have an express or implied 8 agreement for such religious upbringing or that there 9 is insufficient evidence to demonstrate a course of 10 conduct regarding the child's religious upbringing 11 that could serve as a basis for any such order. 12 (4) Extracurricular activities. 13 (c) Determination of child's best interests. In 14determining the child's best interests for purposes of 15allocating significant decision-making responsibilities, the 16court shall consider all relevant factors, including, without 17limitation, the following: 18 (1) the wishes of the child, taking into account the 19 child's maturity and ability to express reasoned and 20 independent preferences as to decision-making; 21 (2) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school, 22 and community; 23 (3) the mental and physical health of all individuals 24 involved; 25 (4) a parent's affirmation of the child's gender 26 identity or gender expression in a way that promotes the HB5548- 7 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 child's overall health and well-being, including accessing 2 lawful health care; 3 (5) (4) the ability of the parents to cooperate to 4 make decisions, or the level of conflict between the 5 parties that may affect their ability to share 6 decision-making; 7 (6) (5) the level of each parent's participation in 8 past significant decision-making with respect to the 9 child; 10 (7) (6) any prior agreement or course of conduct 11 between the parents relating to decision-making with 12 respect to the child; 13 (8) (7) the wishes of the parents; 14 (9) (8) the child's needs; 15 (10) (9) the distance between the parents' residences, 16 the cost and difficulty of transporting the child, each 17 parent's and the child's daily schedules, and the ability 18 of the parents to cooperate in the arrangement; 19 (11) (10) whether a restriction on decision-making is 20 appropriate under Section 603.10; 21 (12) (11) the willingness and ability of each parent to 22 facilitate and encourage a close and continuing 23 relationship between the other parent and the child; 24 (13) (12) the physical violence or threat of physical 25 violence by the child's parent directed against the child; 26 (14) (13) the occurrence of abuse against the child or HB5548- 8 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 other member of the child's household; 2 (15) (14) whether one of the parents is a sex 3 offender, and if so, the exact nature of the offense and 4 what, if any, treatment in which the parent has 5 successfully participated; and 6 (16) (15) any other factor that the court expressly 7 finds to be relevant. 8 (d) A parent shall have sole responsibility for making 9routine decisions with respect to the child and for emergency 10decisions affecting the child's health and safety during that 11parent's parenting time. 12 (e) In allocating significant decision-making 13responsibilities, the court shall not consider conduct of a 14parent that does not affect that parent's relationship to the 15child. 16(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16.) 17 (750 ILCS 5/602.7) 18 Sec. 602.7. Allocation of parental responsibilities: 19parenting time. 20 (a) Best interests. The court shall allocate parenting 21time according to the child's best interests. 22 (b) Allocation of parenting time. Unless the parents 23present a mutually agreed written parenting plan and that plan 24is approved by the court, the court shall allocate parenting 25time. It is presumed both parents are fit and the court shall HB5548- 9 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1not place any restrictions on parenting time as defined in 2Section 600 and described in Section 603.10, unless it finds 3by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent's exercise of 4parenting time would seriously endanger the child's physical, 5mental, moral, or emotional health. 6 In determining the child's best interests for purposes of 7allocating parenting time, the court shall consider all 8relevant factors, including, without limitation, the 9following: 10 (1) the wishes of each parent seeking parenting time; 11 (2) the wishes of the child, taking into account the 12 child's maturity and ability to express reasoned and 13 independent preferences as to parenting time; 14 (3) the amount of time each parent spent performing 15 caretaking functions with respect to the child in the 24 16 months preceding the filing of any petition for allocation 17 of parental responsibilities or, if the child is under 2 18 years of age, since the child's birth; 19 (4) any prior agreement or course of conduct between 20 the parents relating to caretaking functions with respect 21 to the child; 22 (5) the interaction and interrelationship of the child 23 with his or her parents and siblings and with any other 24 person who may significantly affect the child's best 25 interests; 26 (6) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school, HB5548- 10 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 and community; 2 (7) the mental and physical health of all individuals 3 involved; 4 (8) the child's needs; 5 (9) the distance between the parents' residences, the 6 cost and difficulty of transporting the child, each 7 parent's and the child's daily schedules, and the ability 8 of the parents to cooperate in the arrangement; 9 (10) whether a restriction on parenting time is 10 appropriate; 11 (11) the physical violence or threat of physical 12 violence by the child's parent directed against the child 13 or other member of the child's household; 14 (12) the willingness and ability of each parent to 15 place the needs of the child ahead of his or her own needs; 16 (13) the willingness and ability of each parent to 17 facilitate and encourage a close and continuing 18 relationship between the other parent and the child; 19 (14) the occurrence of abuse against the child or 20 other member of the child's household; 21 (15) whether one of the parents is a convicted sex 22 offender or lives with a convicted sex offender and, if 23 so, the exact nature of the offense and what if any 24 treatment the offender has successfully participated in; 25 the parties are entitled to a hearing on the issues raised 26 in this paragraph (15); HB5548- 11 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (16) the terms of a parent's military family-care plan 2 that a parent must complete before deployment if a parent 3 is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is being 4 deployed; and 5 (17) a parent's affirmation of the child's gender 6 identity or gender expression in a way that promotes the 7 child's overall health and well-being, including accessing 8 lawful health care; and 9 (18) (17) any other factor that the court expressly 10 finds to be relevant. 11 (c) In allocating parenting time, the court shall not 12consider conduct of a parent that does not affect that 13parent's relationship to the child. 14 (d) Upon motion, the court may allow a parent who is 15deployed or who has orders to be deployed as a member of the 16United States Armed Forces to designate a person known to the 17child to exercise reasonable substitute visitation on behalf 18of the deployed parent, if the court determines that 19substitute visitation is in the best interests of the child. 20In determining whether substitute visitation is in the best 21interests of the child, the court shall consider all of the 22relevant factors listed in subsection (b) of this Section and 23apply those factors to the person designated as a substitute 24for the deployed parent for visitation purposes. Visitation 25orders entered under this subsection are subject to 26subsections (e) and (f) of Section 602.9 and subsections (c) HB5548- 12 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1and (d) of Section 603.10. 2 (e) If the street address of a parent is not identified 3pursuant to Section 708 of this Act, the court shall require 4the parties to identify reasonable alternative arrangements 5for parenting time by the other parent including, but not 6limited to, parenting time of the minor child at the residence 7of another person or at a local public or private facility. 8(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16.) 9 (750 ILCS 5/603.10) 10 Sec. 603.10. Restriction of parental responsibilities. 11 (a) After a hearing, if the court finds by a preponderance 12of the evidence that a parent engaged in any conduct that 13seriously endangered the child's mental, moral, or physical 14health or that significantly impaired the child's emotional 15development, the court shall enter orders as necessary to 16protect the child. Such orders may include, but are not 17limited to, orders for one or more of the following: 18 (1) a reduction, elimination, or other adjustment of 19 the parent's decision-making responsibilities or parenting 20 time, or both decision-making responsibilities and 21 parenting time; 22 (2) supervision, including ordering the Department of 23 Children and Family Services to exercise continuing 24 supervision under Section 5 of the Children and Family 25 Services Act; HB5548- 13 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (3) requiring the exchange of the child between the 2 parents through an intermediary or in a protected setting; 3 (4) restraining a parent's communication with or 4 proximity to the other parent or the child; 5 (5) requiring a parent to abstain from possessing or 6 consuming alcohol or non-prescribed drugs while exercising 7 parenting time with the child and within a specified 8 period immediately preceding the exercise of parenting 9 time; 10 (6) restricting the presence of specific persons while 11 a parent is exercising parenting time with the child; 12 (7) requiring a parent to post a bond to secure the 13 return of the child following the parent's exercise of 14 parenting time or to secure other performance required by 15 the court; 16 (8) requiring a parent to complete a treatment program 17 for perpetrators of abuse, for drug or alcohol abuse, or 18 for other behavior that is the basis for restricting 19 parental responsibilities under this Section; and 20 (9) any other constraints or conditions that the court 21 deems necessary to provide for the child's safety or 22 welfare. 23 (b) The court may modify an order restricting parental 24responsibilities if, after a hearing, the court finds by a 25preponderance of the evidence that a modification is in the 26child's best interests based on (i) a change of circumstances HB5548- 14 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1that occurred after the entry of an order restricting parental 2responsibilities; or (ii) conduct of which the court was 3previously unaware that seriously endangers the child. In 4determining whether to modify an order under this subsection, 5the court must consider factors that include, but need not be 6limited to, the following: 7 (1) abuse, neglect, or abandonment of the child; 8 (2) abusing or allowing abuse of another person that 9 had an impact upon the child; 10 (3) use of drugs, alcohol, or any other substance in a 11 way that interferes with the parent's ability to perform 12 caretaking functions with respect to the child; and 13 (4) persistent continuing interference with the other 14 parent's access to the child, except for actions taken 15 with a reasonable, good-faith belief that they are 16 necessary to protect the child's safety pending 17 adjudication of the facts underlying that belief, provided 18 that the interfering parent initiates a proceeding to 19 determine those facts as soon as practicable; and . 20 (5) persistent continuing interference with the 21 child's ability to access lawful health care. 22 (c) An order granting parenting time to a parent or 23visitation to another person may be revoked by the court if 24that parent or other person is found to have knowingly used his 25or her parenting time or visitation to facilitate contact 26between the child and a parent who has been barred from contact HB5548- 15 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1with the child or to have knowingly used his or her parenting 2time or visitation to facilitate contact with the child that 3violates any restrictions imposed on a parent's parenting time 4by a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this 5subsection limits a court's authority to enforce its orders in 6any other manner authorized by law. 7 (d) If parenting time of a parent is restricted, an order 8granting visitation to a non-parent with a child or an order 9granting parenting time to the other parent shall contain the 10following language: 11 "If a person granted parenting time or visitation 12 under this order uses that time to facilitate contact 13 between the child and a parent whose parenting time is 14 restricted, or if such a person violates any restrictions 15 placed on parenting time or visitation by the court, the 16 parenting time or visitation granted under this order 17 shall be revoked until further order of court." 18 (e) A parent who, after a hearing, is determined by the 19court to have been convicted of any offense involving an 20illegal sex act perpetrated upon a victim less than 18 years of 21age, including but not limited to an offense under Article 11 22of the Criminal Code of 2012, is not entitled to parenting time 23while incarcerated or while on parole, probation, conditional 24discharge, periodic imprisonment, or mandatory supervised 25release for a felony offense, until the parent complies with 26such terms and conditions as the court determines are in the HB5548- 16 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1child's best interests, taking into account the exact nature 2of the offense and what, if any, treatment in which the parent 3successfully participated. 4 (f) A parent may not, while the child is present, visit any 5person granted visitation or parenting time who has been 6convicted of first degree murder, unless the court finds, 7after considering all relevant factors, including those set 8forth in subsection (b) of Section 602.7, that it would be in 9the child's best interests to allow the child to be present 10during such a visit. 11(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16.) 12 (750 ILCS 5/612 new) 13 Sec. 612. Legislative declaration of public policy. A law 14of another state that authorizes the removal of a child from a 15parent or person acting as a parent based on the parent or 16person acting as a parent allowing a child to receive lawful 17health care is against the public policy of this State and 18shall not be enforced or applied in a case pending in a court 19in this State. 20 Section 10. The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and 21Enforcement Act is amended by changing Sections 102, 201, 204, 22207, and 208 and by adding Section 313.1 as follows: 23 (750 ILCS 36/102) HB5548- 17 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 Sec. 102. Definitions. In this Act: 2 (1) "Abandoned" means left without provision for 3reasonable and necessary care or supervision. 4 (2) "Child" means an individual who has not attained 18 5years of age. 6 (3) "Child-custody determination" means a judgment, 7decree, or other order of a court providing for the legal 8custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a 9child. The term includes a permanent, temporary, initial, and 10modification order. The term does not include an order 11relating to child support or other monetary obligation of an 12individual. 13 (4) "Child-custody proceeding" means a proceeding in which 14legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to 15a child is an issue. The term includes a proceeding for 16divorce, separation, neglect, abuse, dependency, guardianship, 17paternity, termination of parental rights, and protection from 18domestic violence, in which the issue may appear. The term 19does not include a proceeding involving juvenile delinquency, 20contractual emancipation, or enforcement under Article 3. 21 (5) "Commencement" means the filing of the first pleading 22in a proceeding. 23 (6) "Court" means an entity authorized under the law of a 24state to establish, enforce, or modify a child-custody 25determination. 26 (7) "Home state" means the state in which a child lived HB5548- 18 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six 2consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a 3child-custody proceeding. In the case of a child less than six 4months of age, the term means the state in which the child 5lived from birth with any of the persons mentioned. A period of 6temporary absence of any of the mentioned persons is part of 7the period. 8 (8) "Initial determination" means the first child-custody 9determination concerning a particular child. 10 (9) "Issuing court" means the court that makes a 11child-custody determination for which enforcement is sought 12under this Act. 13 (10) "Issuing state" means the state in which a 14child-custody determination is made. 15 (11) "Lawful health care" has the meaning ascribed to that 16term in the Lawful Health Care Activity Act. 17 (12) (11) "Modification" means a child-custody 18determination that changes, replaces, supersedes, or is 19otherwise made after a previous determination concerning the 20same child, whether or not it is made by the court that made 21the previous determination. 22 (13) (12) "Person" means an individual, corporation, 23business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability 24company, association, joint venture, government; governmental 25subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; public corporation; 26or any other legal or commercial entity. HB5548- 19 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (14) (13) "Person acting as a parent" means a person, 2other than a parent, who: 3 (A) has physical custody of the child or has had 4 physical custody for a period of six consecutive months, 5 including any temporary absence, within one year 6 immediately before the commencement of a child-custody 7 proceeding; and 8 (B) has been awarded legal custody by a court or 9 claims a right to legal custody under the law of this 10 State. 11 (15) (14) "Physical custody" means the physical care and 12supervision of a child. 13 (16) (15) "State" means a state of the United States, the 14District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 15Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the 16jurisdiction of the United States. 17 (17) (16) "Tribe" means an Indian tribe or band, or 18Alaskan Native village, which is recognized by federal law or 19formally acknowledged by a state. 20 (18) (17) "Warrant" means an order issued by a court 21authorizing law enforcement officers to take physical custody 22of a child. 23(Source: P.A. 93-108, eff. 1-1-04.) 24 (750 ILCS 36/201) 25 Sec. 201. Initial Child-Custody Jurisdiction. HB5548- 20 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 204, a court 2of this State has jurisdiction to make an initial 3child-custody determination only if: 4 (1) this State is the home state of the child on the 5 date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the 6 home state of the child within six months before the 7 commencement of the proceeding and the child is absent 8 from this State but a parent or person acting as a parent 9 continues to live in this State; 10 (2) a court of another state does not have 11 jurisdiction under paragraph (1), or a court of the home 12 state of the child has declined to exercise jurisdiction 13 on the ground that this State is the more appropriate 14 forum under Section 207 or 208, and: 15 (A) the child and the child's parents, or the 16 child and at least one parent or a person acting as a 17 parent, have a significant connection with this State 18 other than mere physical presence; and 19 (B) substantial evidence is available in this 20 State concerning the child's care, protection, 21 training, and personal relationships; 22 (3) all courts having jurisdiction under paragraph (1) 23 or (2) have declined to exercise jurisdiction on the 24 ground that a court of this State is the more appropriate 25 forum to determine the custody of the child under Section 26 207 or 208; or HB5548- 21 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (4) no court of any other state would have 2 jurisdiction under the criteria specified in paragraph 3 (1), (2), or (3). 4 (b) Subsection (a) is the exclusive jurisdictional basis 5for making a child-custody determination by a court of this 6State. 7 (c) Physical presence of, or personal jurisdiction over, a 8party or a child is not necessary or sufficient to make a 9child-custody determination. 10 (d) The presence of a child in this State for the purpose 11of obtaining lawful health care is sufficient to meet the 12requirements of paragraphs 2(A) and (B) of subsection (a). 13(Source: P.A. 93-108, eff. 1-1-04.) 14 (750 ILCS 36/204) 15 Sec. 204. Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction. 16 (a) A court of this State has temporary emergency 17jurisdiction if the child is present in this State and the 18child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to 19protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of 20the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or 21abuse, or the child is present in this state because the child 22has been unable to obtain lawful health care in another 23state.. 24 (b) If there is no previous child-custody determination 25that is entitled to be enforced under this Act and a HB5548- 22 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1child-custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of 2a state having jurisdiction under Sections 201 through 203, a 3child-custody determination made under this Section remains in 4effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state 5having jurisdiction under Sections 201 through 203. If a 6child-custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a 7court of a state having jurisdiction under Sections 201 8through 203, a child-custody determination made under this 9Section becomes a final determination, if it so provides and 10this State becomes the home state of the child. 11 (c) If there is a previous child-custody determination 12that is entitled to be enforced under this Act, or a 13child-custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a 14state having jurisdiction under Sections 201 through 203, any 15order issued by a court of this State under this Section must 16specify in the order a period that the court considers 17adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an 18order from the state having jurisdiction under Sections 201 19through 203. The order issued in this State remains in effect 20until an order is obtained from the other state within the 21period specified or the period expires. 22 (d) A court of this State which has been asked to make a 23child-custody determination under this Section, upon being 24informed that a child-custody proceeding has been commenced 25in, or a child-custody determination has been made by, a court 26of a state having jurisdiction under Sections 201 through 203, HB5548- 23 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of 2this State which is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 3Sections 201 through 203, upon being informed that a 4child-custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a 5child-custody determination has been made by, a court of 6another state under a statute similar to this Section shall 7immediately communicate with the court of that state to 8resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and 9the child, and determine a period for the duration of the 10temporary order. 11(Source: P.A. 93-108, eff. 1-1-04.) 12 (750 ILCS 36/207) 13 Sec. 207. Inconvenient Forum. 14 (a) A court of this State which has jurisdiction under 15this Act to make a child-custody determination may decline to 16exercise its jurisdiction at any time if it determines that it 17is an inconvenient forum under the circumstances and that a 18court of another state is a more appropriate forum. The issue 19of inconvenient forum may be raised upon motion of a party, the 20court's own motion, or request of another court. 21 (b) Before determining whether it is an inconvenient 22forum, a court of this State shall consider whether it is 23appropriate for a court of another state to exercise 24jurisdiction. For this purpose, the court shall allow the 25parties to submit information and shall consider all relevant HB5548- 24 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1factors, including: 2 (1) whether domestic violence has occurred and is 3 likely to continue in the future and which state could 4 best protect the parties and the child; 5 (2) the length of time the child has resided outside 6 this State; 7 (3) the distance between the court in this State and 8 the court in the state that would assume jurisdiction; 9 (4) the relative financial circumstances of the 10 parties; 11 (5) any agreement of the parties as to which state 12 should assume jurisdiction; 13 (6) the nature and location of the evidence required 14 to resolve the pending litigation, including testimony of 15 the child; 16 (7) the ability of the court of each state to decide 17 the issue expeditiously and the procedures necessary to 18 present the evidence; and 19 (8) the familiarity of the court of each state with 20 the facts and issues in the pending litigation. 21 (c) If a court of this State determines that it is an 22inconvenient forum and that a court of another state is a more 23appropriate forum, it shall stay the proceedings upon 24condition that a child-custody proceeding be promptly 25commenced in another designated state and may impose any other 26condition the court considers just and proper. HB5548- 25 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (d) A court of this State may decline to exercise its 2jurisdiction under this Act if a child-custody determination 3is incidental to an action for divorce or another proceeding 4while still retaining jurisdiction over the divorce or other 5proceeding. 6 (e) In a case where the provision of lawful health care to 7the child is at issue, a court of this State shall not 8determine that it is an inconvenient forum and must find that 9it is a more appropriate forum where the law or policy of the 10other state that may take jurisdiction limits the ability of a 11parent or person acting as a parent to obtain lawful health 12care for their child. 13(Source: P.A. 93-108, eff. 1-1-04.) 14 (750 ILCS 36/208) 15 Sec. 208. Jurisdiction Declined By Reason Of Conduct. 16 (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 204 or by 17other law of this State, if a court of this State has 18jurisdiction under this Act because a person seeking to invoke 19its jurisdiction has engaged in unjustifiable conduct, the 20court shall decline to exercise its jurisdiction unless: 21 (1) the parents and all persons acting as parents have 22 acquiesced in the exercise of jurisdiction; 23 (2) a court of the state otherwise having jurisdiction 24 under Sections 201 through 203 determines that this State 25 is a more appropriate forum under Section 207; or HB5548- 26 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1 (3) no court of any other state would have 2 jurisdiction under the criteria specified in Sections 201 3 through 203. 4 (b) If a court of this State declines to exercise its 5jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (a), it may fashion an 6appropriate remedy to ensure the safety of the child and 7prevent a repetition of the unjustifiable conduct, including 8staying the proceeding until a child-custody proceeding is 9commenced in a court having jurisdiction under Sections 201 10through 203. 11 (c) If a court dismisses a petition or stays a proceeding 12because it declines to exercise its jurisdiction pursuant to 13subsection (a), it shall assess against the party seeking to 14invoke its jurisdiction necessary and reasonable expenses 15including costs, communication expenses, attorney's fees, 16investigative fees, expenses for witnesses, travel expenses, 17and child care during the course of the proceedings, unless 18the party from whom fees are sought establishes that the 19assessment would be clearly inappropriate. The court may not 20assess fees, costs, or expenses against this State unless 21authorized by law other than this Act. 22 (d) In making a determination under this Section, a court 23shall not consider as a factor weighing against the petitioner 24any taking of the child, or retention of the child after a 25visit or other temporary relinquishment of physical custody, 26from the person who has legal custody, if there is a finding HB5548- 27 -LRB103 38744 JRC 68881 b 1that the taking or retention of the child was to protect the 2petitioner from domestic violence or the child or sibling from 3mistreatment or abuse, or for the purposes of obtaining lawful 4health care for the child and the law or policy of the other 5state limits the ability of a parent to obtain such lawful 6health care for their child. 7(Source: P.A. 93-108, eff. 1-1-04.) 8 (750 ILCS 36/313.1 new) 9 Sec. 313.1. Legislative declaration of public policy. A 10law of another state that authorizes the removal of a child 11from a parent or person acting as a parent based on the parent 12or person acting as a parent allowing a child to receive lawful 13health care is against the public policy of this State and 14shall not be enforced or applied in a case pending in a court 15in this State.