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1 | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Adoption Compensation Prohibition Act is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 4.1 as follows:
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6 | (720 ILCS 525/4.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1704.1)
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7 | Sec. 4.1. Payment of certain expenses.
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8 | (a) A person or persons who have filed or intend to file a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | petition to
adopt a child under the Adoption Act shall be | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | permitted to pay the
reasonable living expenses of the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | biological parents of the child sought to
be adopted, in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | addition to those expenses set forth in Section 4, only in
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13 | accordance with the provisions of this Section.
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14 | "Reasonable living expenses" means those expenses related | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | to activities of daily living and meeting basic needs, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | including, but not limited to, lodging, food,
and clothing for | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | the biological parents during the biological
mother's | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | pregnancy and for no more than 120 days prior to the biological | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | mother's expected date of delivery and for no more than 60 days | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | after the birth of the
child. The term does not include | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | expenses for lost wages, gifts,
educational expenses, or other | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | similar expenses of the biological parents.
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23 | (b) The petitioners may seek leave of the court to pay the |
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1 | reasonable
living expenses of the biological parents. They | ||||||
2 | shall be permitted to pay
the reasonable living expenses of the | ||||||
3 | biological parents only upon prior
order of the circuit court | ||||||
4 | where the petition for adoption will be filed,
or if the | ||||||
5 | petition for adoption has been filed in the circuit court where
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6 | the petition is pending.
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7 | (c) Payments under this Section shall be permitted only in | ||||||
8 | those
circumstances where there is a demonstrated need for the | ||||||
9 | payment of such
expenses to protect the health of the | ||||||
10 | biological parents or the health of
the child sought to be | ||||||
11 | adopted.
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12 | (d) Payment of their reasonable living expenses, as | ||||||
13 | provided in this
Section, shall not obligate the biological | ||||||
14 | parents to place the child for
adoption. In the event the | ||||||
15 | biological parents choose not to place the
child for adoption, | ||||||
16 | the petitioners shall have no right to seek
reimbursement from | ||||||
17 | the biological parents, or from any relative or associate of | ||||||
18 | the biological parents,
of moneys paid to, or on behalf of, the | ||||||
19 | biological parents pursuant to a court
order under this | ||||||
20 | Section.
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21 | (d-5) No person or entity shall offer, provide, or co-sign | ||||||
22 | a loan or any other credit accommodation, directly or | ||||||
23 | indirectly, with a biological parent or a relative or associate
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24 | of a biological parent based on the contingency of a surrender | ||||||
25 | or placement of a child for adoption.
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26 | (d-6) An expectant mother may not accept compensation or |
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1 | the payment of reasonable medical or hospital expenses or | ||||||
2 | reasonable living expenses from 2 or more persons not residing | ||||||
3 | within the same household who have been promised the surrender | ||||||
4 | or the consent to adoption of the same child for whom the | ||||||
5 | mother expects to give birth.
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6 | (e) Within 14 days after the completion of all payments for | ||||||
7 | reasonable
living expenses of the biological parents under this | ||||||
8 | Section, the petitioners
shall present a final accounting of | ||||||
9 | all those expenses to the court. The
accounting shall include | ||||||
10 | vouchers for all moneys expended, copies of all checks
written, | ||||||
11 | and receipts for all cash payments. The accounting shall also | ||||||
12 | include
the verified statements of the petitioners, each | ||||||
13 | attorney of record, and the
biological parents or parents to | ||||||
14 | whom or on whose behalf the payments were made
attesting to the | ||||||
15 | accuracy of the accounting.
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16 | (f) If the placement of a child for adoption is made in | ||||||
17 | accordance with the
Interstate Compact on the Placement of | ||||||
18 | Children, and if the sending state
permits the payment of any | ||||||
19 | expenses of biological parents that are not
permitted under | ||||||
20 | this Act, then the payment of those expenses shall not be a
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21 | violation of this Act. In that event, the petitioners shall | ||||||
22 | file an accounting
of all payments of the expenses of the | ||||||
23 | biological parent or
parents with the court in which the | ||||||
24 | petition for adoption is filed or is to be
filed. The | ||||||
25 | accounting shall include a copy of the statutory provisions of | ||||||
26 | the
sending state that permit payments in addition to those |
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1 | permitted by this Act
and a copy of all orders entered in the | ||||||
2 | sending state that relate to expenses
of the biological parents | ||||||
3 | paid by the petitioners in the sending state.
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4 | (g) The petitioners shall be permitted to pay the | ||||||
5 | reasonable attorney's fees
of the biological parents' attorney | ||||||
6 | in connection with proceedings under this
Act or in connection | ||||||
7 | with proceedings for the adoption of the child. The
attorney's | ||||||
8 | fees shall be paid only after a petition seeking leave to pay | ||||||
9 | those
fees is filed with the court in which the adoption | ||||||
10 | proceeding is filed or to be
filed. The court shall review the | ||||||
11 | petition for leave to pay attorney's fees,
and if the court | ||||||
12 | determines that the fees requested are reasonable, the court
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13 | shall permit
the petitioners to pay them. If the court | ||||||
14 | determines that the fees requested
are not
reasonable, the | ||||||
15 | court shall determine and set the reasonable attorney's fees of
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16 | the biological parents' attorney which may be paid by the | ||||||
17 | petitioners.
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18 | (h) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem for an unborn | ||||||
19 | child to
represent the interests of the child in proceedings | ||||||
20 | under this Section.
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21 | (i) The provisions of this Section apply to a person who | ||||||
22 | has filed or intends to file a petition to adopt a child under | ||||||
23 | the Adoption Act. This Section does not apply to a licensed | ||||||
24 | child welfare agency, as that term is defined in the Child Care | ||||||
25 | Act of 1969, whose payments are governed by the Child Care Act | ||||||
26 | of 1969 and the Department rules adopted thereunder.
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1 | (Source: P.A. 93-1063, eff. 6-1-05; 94-586, eff. 8-15-05.)
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