Public Act 103-0124
 
HB1434 EnrolledLRB103 05671 RLC 50690 b


  
    AN ACT concerning courts.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended  by 
changing Section 2-18 as follows:
 
    (705 ILCS 405/2-18)  (from Ch. 37, par. 802-18)
    Sec. 2-18. Evidence. 
    (1) At the adjudicatory hearing, the court shall first 
consider only the
question whether the minor is abused, 
neglected or dependent.  The standard of
proof and the rules of 
evidence in the nature of civil proceedings in this
State are 
applicable to proceedings under this Article.  If the petition 
also
seeks the appointment of a guardian of the person with

power to consent to adoption of the minor under Section 2-29, 
the court may
also consider legally admissible evidence at the 
adjudicatory hearing that one
or more grounds of unfitness 
exists under subdivision D of Section 1 of the
Adoption Act.
    (2) In any hearing under this Act, the following shall 
constitute prima
facie evidence of abuse or neglect, as the 
case may be:
        (a) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of 
    battered child syndrome
is prima facie evidence of abuse;
        (b) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of 
    failure to thrive
syndrome is prima facie evidence of 
    neglect;
        (c) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of 
    fetal alcohol syndrome
is prima facie evidence of neglect;
        (d) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis at 
    birth of withdrawal
symptoms from narcotics or 
    barbiturates is prima facie evidence of neglect;
        (e) proof of injuries sustained by a minor or of the 
    condition of a minor
of such a nature as would ordinarily 
    not be sustained or exist except by
reason of the acts or 
    omissions of the parent, custodian or guardian of
such 
    minor shall be prima facie evidence of abuse or neglect, 
    as the case may
be;
        (f) proof that a parent, custodian or guardian of a 
    minor repeatedly used
a drug, to the extent that it has or 
    would ordinarily have the effect of
producing in the user 
    a substantial state of stupor, unconsciousness,

    intoxication, hallucination, disorientation or 
    incompetence, or a
substantial impairment of judgment, or 
    a substantial manifestation of
irrationality, shall be 
    prima facie evidence of neglect;
        (g) proof that a parent, custodian, or guardian of a 
    minor repeatedly
used a controlled substance, as defined 
    in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the
Illinois 
    Controlled Substances Act, in the presence of the minor or 
    a sibling
of the minor is prima facie evidence of neglect.  
    "Repeated use", for the
purpose of this subsection, means 
    more than one use of a controlled substance
as defined in 
    subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled

    Substances Act;
        (h) proof that a newborn infant's blood, urine, or 
    meconium contains any
amount of a controlled substance as 
    defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of
the Illinois 
    Controlled Substances Act, or a metabolite of a controlled

    substance, with the exception of controlled substances or 
    metabolites of those
substances, the presence of which is 
    the result of medical treatment
administered to the mother 
    or the newborn, is prime facie evidence of
neglect;
        (i) proof that a minor was present in a structure or 
    vehicle in which the minor's parent, custodian, or 
    guardian was involved in the manufacture of 
    methamphetamine constitutes prima facie evidence of abuse 
    and neglect;

        (j)  proof that a parent, custodian, or guardian of a 
    minor allows, encourages, or requires a minor to perform, 
    offer, or agree to perform any act of sexual penetration 
    as defined in Section 11-0.1 of the Criminal  Code of 2012 
    for any money, property, token, object, or article or 
    anything of value, or any touching or fondling of the sex 
    organs of one person by another person, for any money, 
    property, token, object, or article or anything of value, 
    for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification, 
    constitutes prima facie evidence of abuse and neglect;
        (k) proof that a parent, custodian, or guardian of a 
    minor commits or allows to be committed the offense of 
    involuntary servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a 
    minor, or trafficking in persons as defined in Section 
    10-9 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 
    2012, upon such minor, constitutes prima facie evidence of 
    abuse and neglect. 
    (3) In any hearing under this Act, proof of the abuse, 
neglect or dependency
of one minor shall be admissible 
evidence on the issue of the abuse, neglect or
dependency of 
any other minor for whom the respondent is responsible.
    (4) (a) Any writing, record, photograph or x-ray of any 
hospital or public
or private agency, whether in the form of an 
entry in a book or otherwise,
made as a memorandum or record of 
any condition, act, transaction, occurrence
or event relating 
to a minor in an abuse, neglect or
dependency proceeding, 
shall be
admissible in evidence as proof of that condition, 
act, transaction, occurrence
or event, if the court finds that 
the document was made in the regular course
of the business of 
the hospital or agency and that it was in the regular
course of 
such business to make it, at the time of the act, transaction,

occurrence or event, or within a reasonable time thereafter.  A 
certification
by the head or responsible employee or agent of 
the hospital or agency having knowledge of the creation and 
maintenance of or of the matters stated in that the writing,

record, photograph or x-ray attesting that the document is the 
full and complete record of the condition,
act, transaction, 
occurrence or event and that it satisfies the conditions
of 
this paragraph shall be prima facie evidence of the facts 
contained in
such certification.  A certification by someone 
other than the head of the
hospital or agency shall be 
accompanied by a photocopy of a delegation of
authority signed 
by both the head of the hospital or agency and by such
other 
employee.  All other circumstances of the making of the 
memorandum,
record, photograph or x-ray, including lack of 
personal knowledge of the
maker, may be proved to affect the 
weight to be accorded such evidence,
but shall not affect its 
admissibility.
    (b) Any indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused and 
Neglected Child
Reporting Act shall be admissible in evidence.
    (c) Previous statements made by the minor relating to any 
allegations
of abuse or neglect shall be admissible in 
evidence.  However, no such
statement, if uncorroborated and 
not subject to cross-examination, shall be
sufficient in 
itself to support a finding of abuse or neglect.
    (d) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a minor 
is competent
to testify in abuse or neglect proceedings.  The 
court shall determine how
much weight to give to the minor's 
testimony, and may allow the minor to
testify in chambers with 
only the court, the court reporter and attorneys
for the 
parties present.
    (e) The privileged character of communication between any 
professional
person and patient or client, except privilege 
between attorney and client,
shall not apply to proceedings 
subject to this Article.
    (f) Proof of the impairment of emotional health or 
impairment of mental
or emotional condition as a result of the 
failure of the respondent to exercise
a minimum degree of care 
toward a minor may include competent opinion or
expert 
testimony, and may include proof that such impairment lessened 
during
a period when the minor was in the care, custody or 
supervision of a person
or agency other than the respondent.
    (5) In any hearing under this Act alleging neglect for 
failure to
provide education as required by law under 
subsection (1) of Section 2-3,
proof that a minor under 13 
years of age who is subject to compulsory
school attendance 
under the School Code is a chronic truant as defined
under the 
School Code shall be prima facie evidence of neglect by the

parent or guardian in any hearing under this Act and proof that 
a minor who
is 13 years of age or older who is subject to 
compulsory school attendance
under the School Code is a 
chronic truant shall raise a rebuttable
presumption of neglect 
by the parent or guardian.  This subsection (5)
shall not apply 
in counties with 2,000,000 or more inhabitants.
    (6) In any hearing under this Act, the court may take 
judicial notice of
prior sworn testimony or evidence admitted 
in prior proceedings involving
the same minor if (a) the 
parties were either represented by counsel at such
prior 
proceedings or the right to counsel was knowingly waived and 
(b) the
taking of judicial notice would not result in 
admitting hearsay evidence at a
hearing where it would 
otherwise be prohibited.
(Source: P.A. 96-1464, eff. 8-20-10; 97-897, eff. 1-1-13; 
97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)