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| | SB1753 Engrossed | | LRB097 00137 AJO 47183 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning civil 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 Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of |
| 5 | | Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 604 as follows:
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| 6 | | (750 ILCS 5/604) (from Ch. 40, par. 604)
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| 7 | | Sec. 604.
Interviews.) (a) The court may interview the |
| 8 | | child in chambers
to ascertain the child's wishes as to his |
| 9 | | custodian and as to visitation.
Counsel shall be present at the |
| 10 | | interview unless otherwise agreed upon by
the parties. The |
| 11 | | court shall cause a court reporter to be present who shall
make |
| 12 | | a complete record of the interview instantaneously to be part |
| 13 | | of the
record in the case.
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| 14 | | (b) The court may seek the advice of professional |
| 15 | | personnel, whether or
not employed by the court on a regular |
| 16 | | basis. The advice given shall be
in writing and made available |
| 17 | | by the court to counsel. Counsel may examine,
as a witness, any |
| 18 | | professional personnel consulted by the court, designated
as a |
| 19 | | court's witness. Professional personnel consulted by the court |
| 20 | | are subject to subpoena for the purposes of discovery, trial, |
| 21 | | or both. The court shall allocate the costs and fees of those |
| 22 | | professional personnel between the parties based upon the |
| 23 | | financial ability of each party and any other criteria the |