Bill Text: IL HB5474 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Includes "coercive control" in the definition of abuse. Defines "coercive control" as a pattern of behavior that in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person's free will and personal liberty, including, but not limited to: (i) isolating a person from friends, relatives, or other sources of support; (ii) depriving a person of basic necessities; (iii) controlling, regulating, or monitoring a person's movements, communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources, or access to services; or (iv) compelling a person by force, threat of force, or intimidation, including threats based on actual or suspected immigration status to engage in conduct from which the other person has a right to abstain or abstain from conduct in which the other person has a right to engage.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-09 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5474 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5474-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5474 Introduced , by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
750 ILCS 60/103 from Ch. 40, par. 2311-3
Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Includes "coercive control" in the definition of abuse. "Coercive control" is defined as a pattern of behavior that in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person's free will and personal liberty, including, but not limited to: (i) isolating a person from friends, relatives, or other sources of support; (ii) depriving a person of basic necessities; (iii) controlling, regulating, or monitoring a person's movements, communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources, or access to services; or (iv) compelling a person by force, threat of force, or intimidation, including threats based on actual or suspected immigration status to engage in conduct from which the other person has a right to abstain or abstain from conduct in which the other person has a right to engage.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning domestic violence.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is
amended by changing Section 103 as follows:
(750 ILCS 60/103) (from Ch. 40, par. 2311-3)
Sec. 103. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, the
following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Abuse" means physical abuse, harassment, intimidation
of a dependent, coercive control, interference with personal
liberty, or willful deprivation but does not include
reasonable direction of a minor child by a parent or person in
loco parentis.
(2) "Adult with disabilities" means an elder adult with
disabilities or a high-risk adult with disabilities. A person
may be an adult with disabilities for purposes of this Act even
though he or she has never been adjudicated an incompetent
adult. However, no court proceeding may be initiated or
continued on behalf of an adult with disabilities over that
adult's objection, unless such proceeding is approved by his
or her legal guardian, if any.
(2.1) "Coercive control" means a pattern of behavior that
in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person's

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free will and personal liberty, including, but not limited to:
(i) isolating a person from friends, relatives, or
other sources of support;
(ii) depriving a person of basic necessities;
(iii) controlling, regulating, or monitoring a
person's movements, communications, daily behavior,
finances, economic resources, or access to services; or
(iv) compelling a person by force, threat of force, or
intimidation, including threats based on actual or
suspected immigration status to engage in conduct from
which the other person has a right to abstain or abstain
from conduct in which the other person has a right to
engage.
(3) "Domestic violence" means abuse as defined in
paragraph (1).
(4) "Elder adult with disabilities" means an adult
prevented by advanced age from taking appropriate action to
protect himself or herself from abuse by a family or household
member.
(5) "Exploitation" means the illegal, including tortious,
use of a high-risk adult with disabilities or of the assets or
resources of a high-risk adult with disabilities. Exploitation
includes, but is not limited to, the misappropriation of
assets or resources of a high-risk adult with disabilities by
undue influence, by breach of a fiduciary relationship, by
fraud, deception, or extortion, or the use of such assets or

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resources in a manner contrary to law.
(6) "Family or household members" include spouses, former
spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other persons
related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who
share or formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have
or allegedly have a child in common, persons who share or
allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons
who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship,
persons with disabilities and their personal assistants, and
caregivers as defined in Section 12-4.4a of the Criminal Code
of 2012. For purposes of this paragraph, neither a casual
acquaintanceship nor ordinary fraternization between 2
individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to
constitute a dating relationship. In the case of a high-risk
adult with disabilities, "family or household members"
includes any person who has the responsibility for a high-risk
adult as a result of a family relationship or who has assumed
responsibility for all or a portion of the care of a high-risk
adult with disabilities voluntarily, or by express or implied
contract, or by court order.
(7) "Harassment" means knowing conduct which is not
necessary to accomplish a purpose that is reasonable under the
circumstances; would cause a reasonable person emotional
distress; and does cause emotional distress to the petitioner.
Unless the presumption is rebutted by a preponderance of the
evidence, the following types of conduct shall be presumed to

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cause emotional distress:
(i) creating a disturbance at petitioner's place of
employment or school;
(ii) repeatedly telephoning petitioner's place of
employment, home or residence;
(iii) repeatedly following petitioner about in a
public place or places;
(iv) repeatedly keeping petitioner under surveillance
by remaining present outside his or her home, school,
place of employment, vehicle or other place occupied by
petitioner or by peering in petitioner's windows;
(v) improperly concealing a minor child from
petitioner, repeatedly threatening to improperly remove a
minor child of petitioner's from the jurisdiction or from
the physical care of petitioner, repeatedly threatening to
conceal a minor child from petitioner, or making a single
such threat following an actual or attempted improper
removal or concealment, unless respondent was fleeing an
incident or pattern of domestic violence; or
(vi) threatening physical force, confinement or
restraint on one or more occasions.
(8) "High-risk adult with disabilities" means a person
aged 18 or over whose physical or mental disability impairs
his or her ability to seek or obtain protection from abuse,
neglect, or exploitation.
(9) "Interference with personal liberty" means committing

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or threatening physical abuse, harassment, intimidation or
willful deprivation so as to compel another to engage in
conduct from which she or he has a right to abstain or to
refrain from conduct in which she or he has a right to engage.
(10) "Intimidation of a dependent" means subjecting a
person who is dependent because of age, health or disability
to participation in or the witnessing of: physical force
against another or physical confinement or restraint of
another which constitutes physical abuse as defined in this
Act, regardless of whether the abused person is a family or
household member.
(11) (A) "Neglect" means the failure to exercise that
degree of care toward a high-risk adult with disabilities
which a reasonable person would exercise under the
circumstances and includes but is not limited to:
(i) the failure to take reasonable steps to protect a
high-risk adult with disabilities from acts of abuse;
(ii) the repeated, careless imposition of unreasonable
confinement;
(iii) the failure to provide food, shelter, clothing,
and personal hygiene to a high-risk adult with
disabilities who requires such assistance;
(iv) the failure to provide medical and rehabilitative
care for the physical and mental health needs of a
high-risk adult with disabilities; or
(v) the failure to protect a high-risk adult with

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disabilities from health and safety hazards.
(B) Nothing in this subsection (10) shall be construed to
impose a requirement that assistance be provided to a
high-risk adult with disabilities over his or her objection in
the absence of a court order, nor to create any new affirmative
duty to provide support to a high-risk adult with
disabilities.
(12) "Order of protection" means an emergency order,
interim order or plenary order, granted pursuant to this Act,
which includes any or all of the remedies authorized by
Section 214 of this Act.
(13) "Petitioner" may mean not only any named petitioner
for the order of protection and any named victim of abuse on
whose behalf the petition is brought, but also any other
person protected by this Act.
(14) "Physical abuse" includes sexual abuse and means any
of the following:
(i) knowing or reckless use of physical force,
confinement or restraint;
(ii) knowing, repeated and unnecessary sleep
deprivation; or
(iii) knowing or reckless conduct which creates an
immediate risk of physical harm.
(14.5) "Stay away" means for the respondent to refrain
from both physical presence and nonphysical contact with the
petitioner whether direct, indirect (including, but not

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