103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB0041

Introduced , by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
750 ILCS 5/602.5
750 ILCS 5/602.7

Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Deletes language providing that nothing in the Act requires that each parent be allocated decision-making responsibilities. Provides that it is presumed that fit parents act in the best interests of their children. Deletes language providing that in determining the child's best interests for purposes of allocating parenting time, the court shall consider the amount of time each parent spent performing caretaking functions with respect to the child in the 24 months preceding the filing of any petition for allocation of parental responsibilities, or, if the child is under 2 years of age, since the child's birth.
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A BILL FOR

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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 602.5 and 602.7
6as follows:
7 (750 ILCS 5/602.5)
8 Sec. 602.5. Allocation of parental responsibilities:
9decision-making.
10 (a) Generally. The court shall allocate decision-making
11responsibilities according to the child's best interests.
12Nothing in this Act requires that each parent be allocated
13decision-making responsibilities.
14 (b) Allocation of significant decision-making
15responsibilities. Unless the parents otherwise agree in
16writing on an allocation of significant decision-making
17responsibilities, or the issue of the allocation of parental
18responsibilities has been reserved under Section 401, the
19court shall make the determination. The court shall allocate
20to one or both of the parents the significant decision-making
21responsibility for each significant issue affecting the child.
22Those significant issues shall include, without limitation,
23the following:

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1 (1) Education, including the choice of schools and
2 tutors.
3 (2) Health, including all decisions relating to the
4 medical, dental, and psychological needs of the child and
5 to the treatments arising or resulting from those needs.
6 (3) Religion, subject to the following provisions:
7 (A) The court shall allocate decision-making
8 responsibility for the child's religious upbringing in
9 accordance with any express or implied agreement
10 between the parents.
11 (B) The court shall consider evidence of the
12 parents' past conduct as to the child's religious
13 upbringing in allocating decision-making
14 responsibilities consistent with demonstrated past
15 conduct in the absence of an express or implied
16 agreement between the parents.
17 (C) The court shall not allocate any aspect of the
18 child's religious upbringing if it determines that the
19 parents do not or did not have an express or implied
20 agreement for such religious upbringing or that there
21 is insufficient evidence to demonstrate a course of
22 conduct regarding the child's religious upbringing
23 that could serve as a basis for any such order.
24 (4) Extracurricular activities.
25 (c) Determination of child's best interests. In
26determining the child's best interests for purposes of

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1allocating significant decision-making responsibilities, the
2court shall consider all relevant factors, including, without
3limitation, the following:
4 (1) the wishes of the child, taking into account the
5 child's maturity and ability to express reasoned and
6 independent preferences as to decision-making;
7 (2) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school,
8 and community;
9 (3) the mental and physical health of all individuals
10 involved;
11 (4) the ability of the parents to cooperate to make
12 decisions, or the level of conflict between the parties
13 that may affect their ability to share decision-making;
14 (5) the level of each parent's participation in past
15 significant decision-making with respect to the child;
16 (6) any prior agreement or course of conduct between
17 the parents relating to decision-making with respect to
18 the child;
19 (7) the wishes of the parents;
20 (8) the child's needs;
21 (9) the distance between the parents' residences, the
22 cost and difficulty of transporting the child, each
23 parent's and the child's daily schedules, and the ability
24 of the parents to cooperate in the arrangement;
25 (10) whether a restriction on decision-making is
26 appropriate under Section 603.10;

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1 (11) the willingness and ability of each parent to
2 facilitate and encourage a close and continuing
3 relationship between the other parent and the child;
4 (12) the physical violence or threat of physical
5 violence by the child's parent directed against the child;
6 (13) the occurrence of abuse against the child or
7 other member of the child's household;
8 (14) whether one of the parents is a sex offender, and
9 if so, the exact nature of the offense and what, if any,
10 treatment in which the parent has successfully
11 participated; and
12 (15) any other factor that the court expressly finds
13 to be relevant.
14 (d) A parent shall have sole responsibility for making
15routine decisions with respect to the child and for emergency
16decisions affecting the child's health and safety during that
17parent's parenting time.
18 (e) In allocating significant decision-making
19responsibilities, the court shall not consider conduct of a
20parent that does not affect that parent's relationship to the
21child.
22(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16.)
23 (750 ILCS 5/602.7)
24 Sec. 602.7. Allocation of parental responsibilities:
25parenting time.

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1 (a) Best interests. The court shall allocate parenting
2time according to the child's best interests.
3 (b) Allocation of parenting time. Unless the parents
4present a mutually agreed written parenting plan and that plan
5is approved by the court, the court shall allocate parenting
6time. It is presumed both parents are fit and fit parents act
7in the best interests of their children, therefore the court
8shall not place any restrictions on parenting time as defined
9in Section 600 and described in Section 603.10, unless it
10finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent's
11exercise of parenting time would seriously endanger the
12child's physical, mental, moral, or emotional health.
13 In determining the child's best interests for purposes of
14allocating parenting time, the court shall consider all
15relevant factors, including, without limitation, the
16following:
17 (1) the wishes of each parent seeking parenting time;
18 (2) the wishes of the child, taking into account the
19 child's maturity and ability to express reasoned and
20 independent preferences as to parenting time;
21 (3) (blank); the amount of time each parent spent
22 performing caretaking functions with respect to the child
23 in the 24 months preceding the filing of any petition for
24 allocation of parental responsibilities or, if the child
25 is under 2 years of age, since the child's birth;
26 (4) any prior agreement or course of conduct between

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1 the parents relating to caretaking functions with respect
2 to the child;
3 (5) the interaction and interrelationship of the child
4 with his or her parents and siblings and with any other
5 person who may significantly affect the child's best
6 interests;
7 (6) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school,
8 and community;
9 (7) the mental and physical health of all individuals
10 involved;
11 (8) the child's needs;
12 (9) the distance between the parents' residences, the
13 cost and difficulty of transporting the child, each
14 parent's and the child's daily schedules, and the ability
15 of the parents to cooperate in the arrangement;
16 (10) whether a restriction on parenting time is
17 appropriate;
18 (11) the physical violence or threat of physical
19 violence by the child's parent directed against the child
20 or other member of the child's household;
21 (12) the willingness and ability of each parent to
22 place the needs of the child ahead of his or her own needs;
23 (13) the willingness and ability of each parent to
24 facilitate and encourage a close and continuing
25 relationship between the other parent and the child;
26 (14) the occurrence of abuse against the child or

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1 other member of the child's household;
2 (15) whether one of the parents is a convicted sex
3 offender or lives with a convicted sex offender and, if
4 so, the exact nature of the offense and what if any
5 treatment the offender has successfully participated in;
6 the parties are entitled to a hearing on the issues raised
7 in this paragraph (15);
8 (16) the terms of a parent's military family-care plan
9 that a parent must complete before deployment if a parent
10 is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is being
11 deployed; and
12 (17) any other factor that the court expressly finds
13 to be relevant.
14 (c) In allocating parenting time, the court shall not
15consider conduct of a parent that does not affect that
16parent's relationship to the child.
17 (d) Upon motion, the court may allow a parent who is
18deployed or who has orders to be deployed as a member of the
19United States Armed Forces to designate a person known to the
20child to exercise reasonable substitute visitation on behalf
21of the deployed parent, if the court determines that
22substitute visitation is in the best interests of the child.
23In determining whether substitute visitation is in the best
24interests of the child, the court shall consider all of the
25relevant factors listed in subsection (b) of this Section and
26apply those factors to the person designated as a substitute

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1for the deployed parent for visitation purposes. Visitation
2orders entered under this subsection are subject to
3subsections (e) and (f) of Section 602.9 and subsections (c)
4and (d) of Section 603.10.
5 (e) If the street address of a parent is not identified
6pursuant to Section 708 of this Act, the court shall require
7the parties to identify reasonable alternative arrangements
8for parenting time by the other parent including, but not
9limited to, parenting time of the minor child at the residence
10of another person or at a local public or private facility.
11(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16.)