Full Text of HB2624 103rd General Assembly
HB2624enr 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning courts.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Court | 5 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Record and document accessibility. | 7 | | (a) All records and documents are presumed to be | 8 | | accessible by the court and the clerk of the court. A clerk of | 9 | | the court shall limit access to case information and documents | 10 | | that are not identified as public to the clerk of the court or | 11 | | limited supervisory staff through the use of access codes | 12 | | restricting access. Access to court records and documents | 13 | | remotely over the Internet shall be as authorized by the | 14 | | Illinois Supreme Court Remote Access Policy. | 15 | | (b) Unless otherwise specified by rule, statute, or order, | 16 | | access to case information and documents maintained by the | 17 | | clerk of the court is defined as follows: | 18 | | (1) "Public" means a document or case that is | 19 | | accessible by any person upon request. | 20 | | (2) "Impounded" means a document or case that is | 21 | | accessible only to the parties of record on a case; | 22 | | otherwise, the document or case is only accessible upon | 23 | | order of a court. |
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| 1 | | (3) "Confidential" means a document or case that is | 2 | | accessible only to the party submitting the document or | 3 | | filing the case; otherwise, the document or case is only | 4 | | accessible upon order of a court. | 5 | | (4) "Sealed" means a document or case that is | 6 | | accessible only upon order of a court. | 7 | | (5) "Expunged" means a document or case that is | 8 | | accessible only upon order of a court as provided in | 9 | | subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of | 10 | | Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act. | 11 | | (c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsections (a) and | 12 | | (b), the court may enter an order restricting access to any | 13 | | case or document per order of court. | 14 | | (d) If any law of this State restricts access to any case | 15 | | information and documents maintained by the clerk of the court | 16 | | by using the phrase "shall not be public", or a similar phrase | 17 | | stating that a court record is not available to the public, the | 18 | | clerk of the court shall impound such case information and | 19 | | documents unless the court directs otherwise. | 20 | | (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if any law | 21 | | or statute of this State conflicts with Supreme Court Rule 8, | 22 | | then Supreme Court Rule 8 governs. | 23 | | Section 10. Process for access. The General Assembly | 24 | | encourages the Supreme Court to consider establishing a | 25 | | process for access to court files that are limited by statute |
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| 1 | | or court rule that includes standardized
forms and provisions | 2 | | for requesting access to documents in court
files that are | 3 | | restricted in any manner. | 4 | | Section 15. Applicability. This Act applies to all court | 5 | | records and documents related to any civil or criminal | 6 | | proceeding brought before any court in this State that are | 7 | | created and maintained by a State court. | 8 | | Section 20. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is | 9 | | amended by changing Section 108A-7 as follows:
| 10 | | (725 ILCS 5/108A-7) (from Ch. 38, par. 108A-7)
| 11 | | Sec. 108A-7. Retention and Review of Recordings.
| 12 | | (a) The contents of any conversation overheard by any
| 13 | | eavesdropping device shall, if possible, be recorded on tape
| 14 | | or a comparable device. The recording of the contents of a
| 15 | | conversation under this Article shall be done in such a way
as | 16 | | will protect the recording from editing or other alterations.
| 17 | | (b) Immediately after the expiration of the period of
the | 18 | | order or extension or, where the recording was made in an
| 19 | | emergency situation as defined in Section 108A-6, at the time | 20 | | of
the request for approval subsequent to the emergency, all | 21 | | such
recordings shall be made available to the judge issuing | 22 | | the
order or hearing the application for approval of an | 23 | | emergency application.
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| 1 | | The judge shall listen to the tapes, determine if the | 2 | | conversations
thereon are within his order or were | 3 | | appropriately
made in emergency situations, and make a record | 4 | | of such determination
to be retained with the tapes.
| 5 | | The recordings shall be sealed under the instructions of
| 6 | | the judge and custody shall be where he orders. Such | 7 | | recordings
shall not be destroyed except upon order of the | 8 | | judge hearing
the application and in any event shall be kept | 9 | | for 10 years
if not destroyed upon his order.
| 10 | | Duplicate recordings may be made for any use or disclosure
| 11 | | authorized by this Article. The presence of the seal
provided | 12 | | for in this Section or a satisfactory explanation for the
| 13 | | absence thereof shall be a pre-requisite for the use or
| 14 | | disclosure of the contents of the recordings or any evidence | 15 | | derived therefrom.
| 16 | | (c) Applications made and orders granted under this
| 17 | | Article shall be sealed by the judge. Custody of the | 18 | | applications
and orders shall be wherever the judge requests.
| 19 | | Such applications and orders shall be disclosed only upon a
| 20 | | showing of good cause before a judge. Such documents shall
not | 21 | | be destroyed except on the order of the issuing or
denying | 22 | | judge or after the expiration of 10 years time if
not destroyed | 23 | | upon his order. | 24 | | As used in this subsection, "sealed" has the same meaning | 25 | | as in paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Section 5 of the Court | 26 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act.
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 79-1159.)
| 2 | | Section 25. The Privacy of Child Victims of Criminal | 3 | | Sexual Offenses Act is amended by changing Section 3 as | 4 | | follows:
| 5 | | (725 ILCS 190/3) (from Ch. 38, par. 1453)
| 6 | | Sec. 3. Confidentiality of Law Enforcement and Court | 7 | | Records. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, | 8 | | inspection and copying of
law enforcement records maintained | 9 | | by any law enforcement agency or all circuit
court records | 10 | | maintained by any circuit clerk relating to any investigation
| 11 | | or proceeding pertaining to a criminal sexual offense, by any | 12 | | person, except a
judge, state's attorney, assistant state's | 13 | | attorney, Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, | 14 | | psychologist,
psychiatrist, social worker, doctor, parent, | 15 | | parole agent, aftercare specialist, probation officer,
| 16 | | defendant, defendant's
attorney, advocate, or victim's | 17 | | attorney (as defined in Section 3 of the Rights of Crime | 18 | | Victims and Witnesses Act) in any criminal proceeding or | 19 | | investigation related thereto, shall
be restricted to exclude | 20 | | the identity of any child who is a victim of such
criminal | 21 | | sexual offense or alleged criminal sexual offense unless a | 22 | | court order is issued authorizing the removal of such | 23 | | restriction as provided under this Section of a particular | 24 | | case record or particular records of cases maintained by any |
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| 1 | | circuit court clerk. A court may, for
the child's protection | 2 | | and for good cause shown, prohibit any person or
agency | 3 | | present in court from further disclosing the child's identity.
| 4 | | A court may prohibit such disclosure only after giving | 5 | | notice and a hearing to all affected parties. In determining | 6 | | whether to prohibit disclosure of the minor's identity, the | 7 | | court shall consider: | 8 | | (1) the best interest of the child; and | 9 | | (2) whether such nondisclosure would further a | 10 | | compelling State interest. | 11 | | When a criminal sexual offense is committed or alleged to | 12 | | have been
committed by a school district employee or any | 13 | | individual contractually employed by a school district, a copy | 14 | | of the criminal history record information relating to the | 15 | | investigation of the offense or alleged offense shall be
| 16 | | transmitted to the superintendent of schools
of the district | 17 | | immediately upon request or if the law enforcement agency | 18 | | knows that a school district employee or any individual | 19 | | contractually employed by a school district has committed or | 20 | | is alleged to have committed a criminal sexual offense, the | 21 | | superintendent of schools
of the district shall be immediately | 22 | | provided a copy of the criminal history record information. | 23 | | The copy of the criminal history record information to be | 24 | | provided under this Section shall exclude the identity of the | 25 | | child victim. The superintendent shall be restricted from
| 26 | | revealing the identity of the victim. Nothing in this Article |
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| 1 | | precludes or may be used to preclude a mandated reporter from | 2 | | reporting child abuse or child neglect as required under the | 3 | | Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
| 4 | | For the purposes of this Act, "criminal history record | 5 | | information" means: | 6 | | (i) chronologically maintained arrest information, | 7 | | such as traditional
arrest logs or blotters; | 8 | | (ii) the name of a person in the custody of a law | 9 | | enforcement agency and
the charges for which that person | 10 | | is being held; | 11 | | (iii) court records that are public , as defined in | 12 | | paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 5 of the Court | 13 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act ; | 14 | | (iv) records that are otherwise available under State | 15 | | or local law; or | 16 | | (v) records in which the requesting party is the | 17 | | individual
identified, except as provided under part (vii) | 18 | | of
paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of Section 7 of the | 19 | | Freedom of Information Act.
| 20 | | (Source: P.A. 102-651, eff. 1-1-22; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.) | 21 | | Section 30. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by | 22 | | changing Section 5-5.5-15 as follows:
| 23 | | (730 ILCS 5/5-5.5-15)
| 24 | | Sec. 5-5.5-15. Certificates of relief from disabilities |
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| 1 | | issued by courts.
| 2 | | (a) Any circuit court of this State may issue a
| 3 | | certificate of
relief from disabilities to an eligible | 4 | | offender for a conviction that
occurred in that court if the | 5 | | court imposed the sentence. The certificate may be issued (i) | 6 | | at the time
sentence is pronounced, in which case it may grant | 7 | | relief from
disabilities, or (ii) at any time
thereafter, in | 8 | | which case it shall apply only to disabilities.
| 9 | | (b) The certificate may not be issued by the court unless | 10 | | the court
is satisfied, based on clear and convincing | 11 | | evidence, that:
| 12 | | (1) the person to whom it is to be granted is an | 13 | | eligible offender, as
defined in Section 5-5.5-5;
| 14 | | (2) the relief to be granted by the certificate is | 15 | | consistent with the
rehabilitation of the eligible | 16 | | offender; and
| 17 | | (3) the relief to be granted by the certificate is | 18 | | consistent with the
public interest.
| 19 | | (c) If a certificate of relief from disabilities is not | 20 | | issued at
the time sentence is pronounced it shall only be | 21 | | issued thereafter upon
verified application to the court. The | 22 | | court may, for the purpose of
determining whether the | 23 | | certificate shall be issued, request the
probation or court | 24 | | services department to conduct an investigation of the
| 25 | | applicant. Any probation officer
requested to make an | 26 | | investigation under this Section shall
prepare and submit to |
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| 1 | | the court a written report in accordance with the
request.
| 2 | | (d) Any court that has issued a certificate of relief from | 3 | | disabilities
may at any time issue a new certificate to | 4 | | enlarge the relief previously
granted provided that the | 5 | | provisions of clauses (1)
through (3) of subsection (b) of | 6 | | this Section apply to the issuance of
any such new | 7 | | certificate.
| 8 | | (e) Any written report submitted to the court under this | 9 | | Section
is confidential and may not be made available to any | 10 | | person or public or
private agency except if specifically | 11 | | required or permitted by
statute or upon specific | 12 | | authorization of the court. However, it shall
be made | 13 | | available by the court for examination by the applicant's
| 14 | | attorney, or the applicant himself or herself, if he or she has | 15 | | no attorney. In
its discretion, the court may except from | 16 | | disclosure a part or parts of the
report that are not relevant | 17 | | to the granting of a certificate, or
sources of information | 18 | | which have been obtained on a promise of
confidentiality, or | 19 | | any other portion of the report, disclosure of which
would not | 20 | | be in the interest of justice. The action of the court | 21 | | excepting
information from disclosure shall be subject to | 22 | | appellate review. The
court, in its discretion, may hold a | 23 | | conference in open court or in
chambers to afford an applicant | 24 | | an opportunity to controvert or to
comment upon any portions | 25 | | of the report. The court may also conduct a
summary hearing at | 26 | | the conference on any matter relevant to the granting
of the |
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| 1 | | application and may take testimony under oath.
| 2 | | As used in this subsection, "confidential" has the same | 3 | | meaning as in paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Section 5 of | 4 | | the Court Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 5 | | (f) An employer is not civilly or criminally liable for an | 6 | | act or omission by an employee who has been issued a | 7 | | certificate of relief from disabilities, except for a willful | 8 | | or wanton act by the employer in hiring the employee who has | 9 | | been issued a certificate of relief from disabilities. | 10 | | (Source: P.A. 96-852, eff. 1-1-10.)
| 11 | | Section 35. The Stalking No Contact Order Act is amended | 12 | | by changing Sections 20 and 95 as follows:
| 13 | | (740 ILCS 21/20)
| 14 | | Sec. 20. Commencement of action; filing fees. | 15 | | (a) An action for a stalking no contact order is | 16 | | commenced: | 17 | | (1) independently, by filing a petition for a stalking | 18 | | no contact order in any civil court, unless specific | 19 | | courts are designated by local rule or order; or | 20 | | (2) in conjunction with a delinquency petition or a | 21 | | criminal prosecution as provided in Article 112A of the | 22 | | Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. | 23 | | (a-1) A petition for a stalking no contact order may be | 24 | | filed in person in-person or online. |
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| 1 | | (a-5) When a petition for an emergency stalking no contact | 2 | | order is filed, the petition and file shall not be public and | 3 | | shall only be accessible to the court, law enforcement, | 4 | | petitioner, victim advocate, counsel of record for either | 5 | | party, and the State's Attorney for the county until the | 6 | | petition is served on the respondent. | 7 | | Accessibility to the petition and file under this | 8 | | subsection prior to the petition being served on the | 9 | | respondent shall be in accordance with Section 5 of the Court | 10 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 11 | | (b) Withdrawal or dismissal of any petition for a stalking | 12 | | no contact order prior to adjudication where the petitioner is | 13 | | represented by the State shall operate as a dismissal without | 14 | | prejudice. No action for a stalking no contact order shall be | 15 | | dismissed because the respondent is being prosecuted for a | 16 | | crime against the petitioner. For any action commenced under | 17 | | item (2) of subsection (a) of this Section, dismissal of the | 18 | | conjoined case (or a finding of not guilty) shall not require | 19 | | dismissal of the action for a stalking no contact order; | 20 | | instead, it may be treated as an independent action and, if | 21 | | necessary and appropriate, transferred to a different court or | 22 | | division. | 23 | | (c) No fee shall be charged by the clerk of the court for | 24 | | filing petitions or modifying or certifying orders. No fee | 25 | | shall be charged by the sheriff for service by the sheriff of a | 26 | | petition, rule, motion, or order in an action commenced under |
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| 1 | | this Section. | 2 | | (d) The court shall provide, through the office of the | 3 | | clerk of the court, simplified forms for filing of a petition | 4 | | under this Section by any person not represented by counsel.
| 5 | | (Source: P.A. 101-255, eff. 1-1-20; 102-831, eff. 5-13-22; | 6 | | 102-853, eff. 1-1-23; revised 12-14-22.) | 7 | | (740 ILCS 21/95) | 8 | | Sec. 95. Emergency stalking no contact order. | 9 | | (a) An emergency stalking no contact order shall issue if | 10 | | the petitioner satisfies the requirements of this subsection | 11 | | (a). The petitioner shall establish that: | 12 | | (1) the court has jurisdiction under Section 50; | 13 | | (2) the requirements of Section 80 are satisfied; and | 14 | | (3) there is good cause to grant the remedy, | 15 | | regardless of prior service of process or of notice upon | 16 | | the respondent, because the harm which that remedy is | 17 | | intended to prevent would be likely to occur if the | 18 | | respondent were given any prior notice, or greater notice | 19 | | than was actually given, of the petitioner's efforts to | 20 | | obtain judicial relief. | 21 | | An emergency stalking no contact order shall be issued by | 22 | | the court if it appears from the contents of the petition and | 23 | | the examination of the petitioner that the averments are | 24 | | sufficient to indicate stalking by the respondent and to | 25 | | support the granting of relief under the issuance of the |
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| 1 | | stalking no contact order. | 2 | | An emergency stalking no contact order shall be issued if | 3 | | the court finds that items (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection | 4 | | (a) are met. | 5 | | (a-5) When a petition for an emergency stalking no contact | 6 | | order is granted, the petition, order, and file shall not be | 7 | | public and shall only be accessible to the court, law | 8 | | enforcement, petitioner, victim advocate, counsel of record | 9 | | for either party, and the State's Attorney for the county | 10 | | until the order is served on the respondent. | 11 | | Accessibility to the petition, order, and file under this | 12 | | subsection prior to the petition being served on the | 13 | | respondent shall be in accordance with Section 5 of the Court | 14 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 15 | | (b) If the respondent appears in court for this hearing | 16 | | for an emergency order, he or she may elect to file a general | 17 | | appearance and testify. Any resulting order may be an | 18 | | emergency order, governed by this Section. Notwithstanding the | 19 | | requirements of this Section, if all requirements of Section | 20 | | 100 have been met, the court may issue a plenary order. | 21 | | (c) Emergency orders; court holidays and evenings. | 22 | | (1) When the court is unavailable at the close of | 23 | | business, the petitioner may file a petition for a 21-day | 24 | | emergency order before any available circuit judge or | 25 | | associate judge who may grant relief under this Act. If | 26 | | the judge finds that there is an immediate and present |
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| 1 | | danger of abuse against the petitioner and that the | 2 | | petitioner has satisfied the prerequisites set forth in | 3 | | subsection (a), that judge may issue an emergency stalking | 4 | | no contact order. | 5 | | (2) The chief judge of the circuit court may designate | 6 | | for each county in the circuit at least one judge to be | 7 | | reasonably available to issue orally, by telephone, by | 8 | | facsimile, or otherwise, an emergency stalking no contact | 9 | | order at all times, whether or not the court is in session. | 10 | | (3) Any order issued under this Section and any | 11 | | documentation in support of the order shall be certified | 12 | | on the next court day to the appropriate court. The clerk | 13 | | of that court shall immediately assign a case number, file | 14 | | the petition, order, and other documents with the court, | 15 | | and enter the order of record and file it with the sheriff | 16 | | for service, in accordance with Section 60. Filing the | 17 | | petition shall commence proceedings for further relief | 18 | | under Section 20. Failure to comply with the requirements | 19 | | of this paragraph (3) does not affect the validity of the | 20 | | order.
| 21 | | (Source: P.A. 101-255, eff. 1-1-20; 102-831, eff. 5-13-22.) | 22 | | Section 40. The Civil No Contact Order Act is amended by | 23 | | changing Sections 202 and 214 as follows:
| 24 | | (740 ILCS 22/202)
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| 1 | | Sec. 202. Commencement of action; filing fees.
| 2 | | (a) An action for a civil no contact order is commenced:
| 3 | | (1) independently, by filing a petition for a civil no | 4 | | contact order in any civil court,
unless specific courts | 5 | | are designated by local rule or order; or
| 6 | | (2) in conjunction with a
delinquency
petition or a | 7 | | criminal prosecution as provided in Article 112A of the | 8 | | Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963.
| 9 | | (a-1) A petition for a civil no contact order may be filed | 10 | | in person in-person or online. | 11 | | (a-5) When a petition for an emergency civil no contact | 12 | | order is filed, the petition and file shall not be public and | 13 | | shall only be accessible to the court, law enforcement, | 14 | | petitioner, rape crisis advocate, counsel of record for either | 15 | | party, and the State's Attorney for the county until the | 16 | | petition is served on the respondent. | 17 | | Accessibility to the petition and file under this | 18 | | subsection prior to the petition being served on the | 19 | | respondent shall be in accordance with Section 5 of the Court | 20 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 21 | | (b) Withdrawal or dismissal of any petition for a
civil no | 22 | | contact order
prior to adjudication where the petitioner is | 23 | | represented by the State shall
operate as a dismissal without | 24 | | prejudice. No action for a civil no contact
order shall be | 25 | | dismissed because the respondent is being prosecuted for a | 26 | | crime
against the petitioner. For any action commenced under |
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| 1 | | item (2) of subsection
(a) of
this Section, dismissal of the | 2 | | conjoined case (or a finding of not guilty)
shall not require | 3 | | dismissal of the action for a civil no contact order;
instead, | 4 | | it may be treated as an independent action and, if necessary | 5 | | and
appropriate, transferred to a different court or division.
| 6 | | (c) No fee shall be
charged by the clerk of the court for | 7 | | filing petitions or modifying or
certifying orders. No
fee
| 8 | | shall be charged by the sheriff for service by the sheriff of a
| 9 | | petition, rule, motion, or order in an action commenced under | 10 | | this
Section.
| 11 | | (d) The court shall provide, through the office
of the | 12 | | clerk of the court, simplified forms for filing of a petition | 13 | | under this Section by any
person not represented by counsel.
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 101-255, eff. 1-1-20; 102-831, eff. 5-13-22; | 15 | | 102-853, eff. 1-1-23; revised 12-14-22.)
| 16 | | (740 ILCS 22/214)
| 17 | | Sec. 214. Emergency civil no contact order.
| 18 | | (a) An emergency civil no contact order shall issue if
the | 19 | | petitioner satisfies the requirements of this subsection (a). | 20 | | The
petitioner
shall establish that:
| 21 | | (1) the court has jurisdiction under Section 206;
| 22 | | (2) the requirements of Section 213 are satisfied; and
| 23 | | (3) there is good cause to grant the remedy, | 24 | | regardless of
prior service of process or of notice upon | 25 | | the respondent, because
the harm which that remedy is |
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| 1 | | intended to
prevent would be likely to occur if the | 2 | | respondent were given
any prior notice, or greater notice | 3 | | than was actually given, of
the petitioner's efforts to | 4 | | obtain judicial relief.
| 5 | | An emergency civil no contact order shall be issued by the | 6 | | court if it appears from the contents of the petition and the | 7 | | examination of the petitioner that the averments are | 8 | | sufficient to indicate nonconsensual sexual conduct or | 9 | | nonconsensual sexual penetration by the respondent and to | 10 | | support the granting of relief under the issuance of the civil | 11 | | no contact order.
| 12 | | An emergency civil no contact order shall be issued if the | 13 | | court finds that subsections (1), (2), and (3) above are met.
| 14 | | (a-5) When a petition for a civil no contact order is | 15 | | granted, the petition, order, and file shall not be public and | 16 | | shall only be accessible to the court, law enforcement, | 17 | | petitioner, rape crisis advocate, counsel of record for either | 18 | | party, and the State's Attorney for the county until the | 19 | | petition is served on the respondent. | 20 | | Accessibility to the petition, order, and file under this | 21 | | subsection prior to the petition being served on the | 22 | | respondent shall be in accordance with Section 5 of the Court | 23 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 24 | | (b) If the respondent appears in court for
this hearing | 25 | | for an emergency order, he or she may elect to file a
general | 26 | | appearance and testify. Any resulting order may be an |
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| 1 | | emergency
order, governed by this Section. Notwithstanding the | 2 | | requirements of
this Section, if all requirements of Section | 3 | | 215 have been met, the
court may issue a plenary order.
| 4 | | (c) Emergency orders; court holidays and evenings.
| 5 | | (1) When the court is unavailable at the close
of | 6 | | business, the petitioner may file a petition for a 21-day
| 7 | | emergency order before any available circuit judge or | 8 | | associate
judge who may grant relief under this Act. If | 9 | | the judge finds that
there is an immediate and present | 10 | | danger of
abuse against the petitioner and
that the | 11 | | petitioner has satisfied the prerequisites set forth in
| 12 | | subsection (a), that judge may issue an emergency
civil no | 13 | | contact order.
| 14 | | (2) The chief judge of the circuit court
may designate | 15 | | for each county in the circuit at least one judge to
be | 16 | | reasonably available to issue orally, by telephone, by | 17 | | facsimile,
or otherwise, an emergency civil no contact | 18 | | order at all times, whether
or not the court is in session.
| 19 | | (3) Any order issued under this
Section and any | 20 | | documentation in support of the order shall be certified
| 21 | | on the next court day to the appropriate court. The clerk | 22 | | of that
court shall immediately assign a case number, file | 23 | | the petition,
order, and other documents with the court, | 24 | | and enter the order of
record and file it with the sheriff | 25 | | for service, in accordance with
Section 222. Filing the | 26 | | petition shall commence proceedings for
further relief |
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| 1 | | under Section 202. Failure to comply with the
requirements | 2 | | of this paragraph (3) does not affect the validity of the
| 3 | | order.
| 4 | | (Source: P.A. 102-831, eff. 5-13-22.)
| 5 | | Section 45. The Mental Health and Developmental | 6 | | Disabilities Confidentiality Act is amended by changing | 7 | | Section 3 as follows:
| 8 | | (740 ILCS 110/3) (from Ch. 91 1/2, par. 803)
| 9 | | Sec. 3.
(a) All records and communications shall be | 10 | | confidential and shall
not be disclosed except as provided in | 11 | | this Act. Unless otherwise expressly provided for in this Act, | 12 | | records and communications made or created in the course of | 13 | | providing mental health or developmental disabilities services | 14 | | shall be protected from disclosure regardless of whether the | 15 | | records and communications are made or created in the course | 16 | | of a therapeutic relationship.
| 17 | | As used in this subsection, "confidential" has the same | 18 | | meaning as in paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Section 5 of | 19 | | the Court Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 20 | | (b) A therapist is not required to but may, to the extent | 21 | | he determines
it necessary and appropriate, keep personal | 22 | | notes regarding a recipient.
Such personal notes are the work | 23 | | product and personal property of the therapist
and shall not | 24 | | be subject to discovery in any judicial, administrative or
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| 1 | | legislative proceeding or any proceeding preliminary thereto.
| 2 | | (c) Psychological test material whose disclosure would | 3 | | compromise the
objectivity or fairness of the testing process | 4 | | may not be disclosed to
anyone including the subject of the | 5 | | test and is not subject to disclosure
in any administrative, | 6 | | judicial or legislative proceeding. However, any
recipient who | 7 | | has been the subject of the psychological test shall have the
| 8 | | right to have all records relating to that test disclosed to | 9 | | any
psychologist designated by the recipient. Requests for | 10 | | such disclosure
shall be in writing and shall comply with the | 11 | | requirements of subsection
(b) of Section 5 of this Act.
| 12 | | (Source: P.A. 99-28, eff. 1-1-16 .)
| 13 | | Section 50. The Communicable Disease Report Act is amended | 14 | | by changing Section 1 as follows:
| 15 | | (745 ILCS 45/1) (from Ch. 126, par. 21)
| 16 | | Sec. 1. Whenever any statute of this State or any | 17 | | ordinance or
resolution of a municipal corporation or | 18 | | political subdivision enacted
pursuant to statute or any rule | 19 | | of an administrative agency adopted
pursuant to statute | 20 | | requires medical practitioners or other persons to
report | 21 | | cases of injury, medical condition or procedure, communicable
| 22 | | disease, venereal disease, or sexually
transmitted disease to
| 23 | | any governmental agency or officer, such reports shall be | 24 | | confidential,
and any medical practitioner or other person |
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| 1 | | making such report in good
faith shall be immune from suit for | 2 | | slander or libel based upon any
statements contained in such | 3 | | report.
| 4 | | The identity of any individual who makes a report or who is | 5 | | identified in a
report
of an injury, medical condition or | 6 | | procedure, communicable
disease, venereal disease, sexually | 7 | | transmitted disease, or food-borne
illness or an investigation
| 8 | | conducted pursuant to a report of an injury, medical condition | 9 | | or
procedure, communicable disease, venereal disease, sexually
| 10 | | transmitted disease, or food-borne illness shall be | 11 | | confidential and the
identity of any person making a report or | 12 | | named therein shall not be
disclosed publicly or in any action | 13 | | of any kind in any court or before any
tribunal, board or | 14 | | agency; provided that records and communications concerning
a | 15 | | venereal disease or sexually transmitted disease in any minor | 16 | | under 11
years of age shall be disclosed in accordance with the | 17 | | provisions
of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, | 18 | | approved June 26, 1975,
as now or hereafter amended.
| 19 | | The confidentiality provisions of this Act do not apply to | 20 | | the results
of tests for diseases conducted pursuant to
| 21 | | subsections (g) and (g-5) of Section 5-5-3 and
subsection (a) | 22 | | of Section
3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections. | 23 | | Nothing in this Act prohibits the sharing of information | 24 | | as authorized in Section 2.1 of the Department of Public | 25 | | Health Act.
| 26 | | As used in this Section, "confidential" has the same |
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| 1 | | meaning as in paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Section 5 of | 2 | | the Court Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 3 | | (Source: P.A. 93-829, eff. 7-28-04.)
| 4 | | Section 55. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is | 5 | | amended by changing Sections 202 and 217 as follows:
| 6 | | (750 ILCS 60/202) (from Ch. 40, par. 2312-2)
| 7 | | Sec. 202. Commencement of action; filing fees; dismissal.
| 8 | | (a) How to commence action. Actions for orders of | 9 | | protection are commenced:
| 10 | | (1) Independently: By filing a petition for an order | 11 | | of protection in
any civil court, unless specific courts | 12 | | are designated by local rule or order.
| 13 | | (2) In conjunction with another civil proceeding: By
| 14 | | filing a petition for an order of protection under the | 15 | | same case number
as another civil proceeding involving the | 16 | | parties, including , but not
limited to: (i) any proceeding | 17 | | under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
Marriage | 18 | | Act, Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, Nonsupport of Spouse | 19 | | and
Children Act, or Revised Uniform Reciprocal | 20 | | Enforcement of Support Act or an
action for nonsupport | 21 | | brought under Article X of the
Illinois Public Aid
Code, | 22 | | provided that a petitioner and
the respondent are a party | 23 | | to or the subject of that proceeding or (ii) a
| 24 | | guardianship proceeding under the Probate Act of
1975, or |
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| 1 | | a proceeding for involuntary
commitment under the Mental | 2 | | Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, or
any | 3 | | proceeding, other than a delinquency petition, under the | 4 | | Juvenile Court
Act of 1987, provided that a petitioner or | 5 | | the
respondent is a party to or the subject of such | 6 | | proceeding.
| 7 | | (3) In conjunction with a delinquency petition or a
| 8 | | criminal prosecution as provided in Section 112A-20 of the | 9 | | Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963.
| 10 | | (a-1) A petition for an order of protection may be filed in | 11 | | person in-person or online. | 12 | | (a-5) When a petition for an emergency order of protection | 13 | | is filed, the petition shall not be public publicly available | 14 | | until the petition is served on the respondent. | 15 | | Accessibility to the petition under this subsection prior | 16 | | to the petition being served on the respondent shall be in | 17 | | accordance with Section 5 of the Court Record and Document | 18 | | Accessibility Act. | 19 | | (b) Filing, certification, and service fees. No fee shall | 20 | | be charged
by the clerk for filing, amending, vacating, | 21 | | certifying, or photocopying
petitions or orders; or for | 22 | | issuing alias summons; or for any
related filing service. No
| 23 | | fee shall be charged by the sheriff for service by the sheriff | 24 | | of a
petition,
rule, motion, or order in an action commenced | 25 | | under this Section.
| 26 | | (c) Dismissal and consolidation. Withdrawal or dismissal |
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| 1 | | of any
petition for an order of protection prior to | 2 | | adjudication where the
petitioner is represented by the State | 3 | | shall operate as a dismissal without
prejudice. No action for | 4 | | an order of protection shall be dismissed because
the | 5 | | respondent is being prosecuted for a crime against the | 6 | | petitioner. An
independent action may be consolidated with | 7 | | another civil proceeding, as
provided by paragraph (2) of | 8 | | subsection (a) of this Section. For any
action commenced under | 9 | | paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of this Section,
| 10 | | dismissal of the conjoined case (or a finding of not guilty) | 11 | | shall not
require dismissal of the action
for the order of | 12 | | protection; instead, it may be treated as an
independent | 13 | | action and, if necessary and appropriate, transferred to a
| 14 | | different court or division. Dismissal of any conjoined case | 15 | | shall not affect
the
validity of any previously issued order | 16 | | of protection, and thereafter
subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2) of | 17 | | Section 220 shall be inapplicable to
such order.
| 18 | | (d) Pro se petitions. The court shall provide, through the | 19 | | office of
the clerk of the court, simplified forms and | 20 | | clerical assistance to help
with the writing and filing of a | 21 | | petition under this Section by any person
not represented by | 22 | | counsel. In addition, that assistance may be provided
by the | 23 | | State's Attorney state's attorney .
| 24 | | (e)
As provided in this subsection, the administrative | 25 | | director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, | 26 | | with the approval of the administrative board of the courts, |
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| 1 | | may adopt rules to establish and implement a pilot program to | 2 | | allow the electronic filing of petitions for temporary orders | 3 | | of protection and the issuance of such orders by audio-visual | 4 | | means to accommodate litigants for whom attendance in court to | 5 | | file for and obtain emergency relief would constitute an undue | 6 | | hardship or would constitute a risk of harm to the litigant. | 7 | | (1) As used in this subsection: | 8 | | (A) "Electronic means" means any method of | 9 | | transmission of information between computers or other | 10 | | machines designed for the purpose of sending or | 11 | | receiving electronic transmission and that allows for | 12 | | the recipient of information to reproduce the | 13 | | information received in a tangible medium of | 14 | | expression. | 15 | | (B) "Independent audio-visual system" means an | 16 | | electronic system for the transmission and receiving | 17 | | of audio and visual signals, including those with the | 18 | | means to preclude the unauthorized reception and | 19 | | decoding of the signals by commercially available | 20 | | television receivers, channel converters, or other | 21 | | available receiving devices. | 22 | | (C) "Electronic appearance" means an appearance in | 23 | | which one or more of the parties are not present in the | 24 | | court, but in which, by means of an independent | 25 | | audio-visual system, all of the participants are | 26 | | simultaneously able to see and hear reproductions of |
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| 1 | | the voices and images of the judge, counsel, parties, | 2 | | witnesses, and any other participants. | 3 | | (2) Any pilot program under this subsection (e) shall | 4 | | be developed by the administrative director or his or her | 5 | | delegate in consultation with at least one local | 6 | | organization providing assistance to domestic violence | 7 | | victims. The program plan shall include , but not be | 8 | | limited to: | 9 | | (A) identification of agencies equipped with or | 10 | | that have access to an independent audio-visual system | 11 | | and electronic means for filing documents; and | 12 | | (B) identification of one or more organizations | 13 | | who are trained and available to assist petitioners in | 14 | | preparing and filing petitions for temporary orders of | 15 | | protection and in their electronic appearances before | 16 | | the court to obtain such orders; and | 17 | | (C) identification of the existing resources | 18 | | available in local family courts for the | 19 | | implementation and oversight of the pilot program; and | 20 | | (D) procedures for filing petitions and documents | 21 | | by electronic means, swearing in the petitioners and | 22 | | witnesses, preparation of a transcript of testimony | 23 | | and evidence presented, and a prompt transmission of | 24 | | any orders issued to the parties; and | 25 | | (E) a timeline for implementation and a plan for | 26 | | informing the public about the availability of the |
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| 1 | | program; and | 2 | | (F) a description of the data to be collected in | 3 | | order to evaluate and make recommendations for | 4 | | improvements to the pilot program. | 5 | | (3) In conjunction with an electronic appearance, any | 6 | | petitioner for an ex parte temporary order of protection | 7 | | may, using the assistance of a trained advocate if | 8 | | necessary, commence the proceedings by filing a petition | 9 | | by electronic means. | 10 | | (A) A petitioner who is seeking an ex parte | 11 | | temporary order of protection using an electronic | 12 | | appearance must file a petition in advance of the | 13 | | appearance and may do so electronically. | 14 | | (B) The petitioner must show that traveling to or | 15 | | appearing in court would constitute an undue hardship | 16 | | or create a risk of harm to the petitioner. In granting | 17 | | or denying any relief sought by the petitioner, the | 18 | | court shall state the names of all participants and | 19 | | whether it is granting or denying an appearance by | 20 | | electronic means and the basis for such a | 21 | | determination. A party is not required to file a | 22 | | petition or other document by electronic means or to | 23 | | testify by means of an electronic appearance. | 24 | | (C) Nothing in this subsection (e) affects or | 25 | | changes any existing laws governing the service of | 26 | | process, including requirements for personal service |
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| 1 | | or the sealing and confidentiality of court records in | 2 | | court proceedings or access to court records by the | 3 | | parties to the proceedings. | 4 | | (4) Appearances. | 5 | | (A) All electronic appearances by a petitioner | 6 | | seeking an ex parte temporary order of protection | 7 | | under this subsection (e) are strictly voluntary and | 8 | | the court shall obtain the consent of the petitioner | 9 | | on the record at the commencement of each appearance. | 10 | | (B) Electronic appearances under this subsection | 11 | | (e) shall be recorded and preserved for transcription. | 12 | | Documentary evidence, if any, referred to by a party | 13 | | or witness or the court may be transmitted and | 14 | | submitted and introduced by electronic means. | 15 | | (Source: P.A. 101-255, eff. 1-1-20; 102-853, eff. 1-1-23; | 16 | | revised 12-13-22.)
| 17 | | (750 ILCS 60/217) (from Ch. 40, par. 2312-17)
| 18 | | Sec. 217. Emergency order of protection.
| 19 | | (a) Prerequisites. An emergency order of protection shall | 20 | | issue if
petitioner satisfies the requirements of this | 21 | | subsection for one or more of the
requested remedies. For each | 22 | | remedy requested, the petitioner shall establish
that:
| 23 | | (1) The court has jurisdiction under Section 208;
| 24 | | (2) The requirements of Section 214 are satisfied; and
| 25 | | (3) There is good cause to grant the remedy, |
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| 1 | | regardless of prior service
of process or of notice upon | 2 | | the respondent, because:
| 3 | | (i) For
the remedies of "prohibition of abuse" | 4 | | described in
Section 214(b)(1), "stay away order and | 5 | | additional prohibitions" described in
Section
| 6 | | 214(b)(3), "removal or concealment of minor child" | 7 | | described in Section
214(b)(8), "order to appear" | 8 | | described in Section 214(b)(9), "physical
care and | 9 | | possession of the minor child" described in Section | 10 | | 214(b)(5),
"protection of property" described in | 11 | | Section 214(b)(11), "prohibition
of entry" described | 12 | | in Section 214(b)(14), "prohibition of firearm | 13 | | possession" described in Section 214(b)(14.5), | 14 | | "prohibition of access to
records" described in | 15 | | Section 214(b)(15), and "injunctive relief"
described | 16 | | in Section 214(b)(16), the harm which that remedy
is | 17 | | intended to prevent would be likely to occur if the | 18 | | respondent were given
any prior notice, or greater | 19 | | notice than was actually given, of the
petitioner's | 20 | | efforts to obtain judicial relief;
| 21 | | (ii) For the remedy of "grant of exclusive | 22 | | possession of
residence" described in Section | 23 | | 214(b)(2), the immediate danger of further
abuse of | 24 | | the petitioner by the respondent,
if the petitioner | 25 | | chooses or had chosen to remain in the residence or | 26 | | household
while the respondent was given any prior |
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| 1 | | notice or greater notice than was
actually given of | 2 | | the petitioner's efforts to obtain judicial relief,
| 3 | | outweighs the hardships to the respondent of an | 4 | | emergency order
granting the petitioner exclusive | 5 | | possession of the residence or household.
This remedy | 6 | | shall not be denied because the petitioner has or | 7 | | could obtain
temporary shelter elsewhere while prior | 8 | | notice is given to the respondent, unless
the
| 9 | | hardships to respondent from exclusion from the home | 10 | | substantially outweigh
those to the petitioner;
| 11 | | (iii) For the remedy of "possession of personal | 12 | | property"
described in
Section 214(b)(10), improper | 13 | | disposition of the personal
property would be likely
| 14 | | to occur if the respondent were given any prior | 15 | | notice, or greater notice than
was actually given, of | 16 | | the petitioner's efforts to obtain judicial relief, or | 17 | | the
petitioner has an immediate and pressing need for | 18 | | possession of that property.
| 19 | | An emergency order may not include the counseling, legal | 20 | | custody, payment
of support , or monetary compensation | 21 | | remedies.
| 22 | | (a-5) When a petition for an emergency order of protection | 23 | | is granted, the order and file shall not be public and shall | 24 | | only be accessible to the court, the petitioner, law | 25 | | enforcement, a domestic violence advocate or counselor, the | 26 | | counsel of record for either party, and the State's Attorney |
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| 1 | | for the county until the order is served on the respondent. | 2 | | Accessibility to the order and file under this subsection | 3 | | prior to the order being served on the respondent shall be in | 4 | | accordance with Section 5 of the Court Record and Document | 5 | | Accessibility Act. | 6 | | (b) Appearance by respondent.
If the respondent appears in | 7 | | court for this hearing for an emergency order,
he or she may | 8 | | elect to file a general appearance and testify.
Any resulting | 9 | | order may be an emergency order, governed
by this Section.
| 10 | | Notwithstanding the requirements of this Section, if all | 11 | | requirements of
Section 218 have been met, the court may issue | 12 | | a 30-day interim order.
| 13 | | (c) Emergency orders: court holidays and evenings.
| 14 | | (1) Prerequisites. When the court is unavailable at | 15 | | the close of
business, the petitioner may file a petition | 16 | | for a 21-day emergency order
before any available circuit | 17 | | judge or associate judge who may grant relief
under this | 18 | | Act. If the judge finds that there is an immediate and | 19 | | present
danger of abuse to the petitioner and that the | 20 | | petitioner has satisfied the
prerequisites set forth in | 21 | | subsection (a) of Section 217, that judge may
issue an | 22 | | emergency order of protection.
| 23 | | (1.5) Issuance of order. The chief judge of the | 24 | | circuit court
may designate for each county in the circuit | 25 | | at least one judge to be
reasonably available to
issue | 26 | | orally, by telephone, by facsimile, or otherwise, an |
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| 1 | | emergency
order of protection at all times, whether or not | 2 | | the court is in session.
| 3 | | (2) Certification and transfer. The judge who issued | 4 | | the order under this Section shall promptly communicate or | 5 | | convey the order to the sheriff to facilitate the entry of | 6 | | the order into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System by | 7 | | the Illinois State Police pursuant to Section 302. Any | 8 | | order issued under this Section and
any documentation in | 9 | | support thereof shall be certified on the next court
day | 10 | | to the appropriate court. The clerk of that court shall | 11 | | immediately
assign a case number, file the petition, order | 12 | | and other documents with the
court, and enter the order of | 13 | | record and file it with the sheriff for
service, in | 14 | | accordance with Section 222. Filing the petition
shall | 15 | | commence proceedings for further relief under Section 202.
| 16 | | Failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection | 17 | | shall not
affect the validity of the order.
| 18 | | (Source: P.A. 101-255, eff. 1-1-20; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; | 19 | | 102-831, eff. 5-13-22; revised 7-29-22.)
| 20 | | Section 60. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended by changing | 21 | | Section 11a-9 as follows:
| 22 | | (755 ILCS 5/11a-9) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 11a-9)
| 23 | | Sec. 11a-9. Report. | 24 | | (a) The petition for adjudication of disability
and for |
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| 1 | | appointment of a guardian
should be accompanied by a report | 2 | | which contains (1) a description of
the nature and type of the | 3 | | respondent's disability and an assessment of how
the | 4 | | disability impacts on the ability of the respondent to make | 5 | | decisions or
to function independently; (2) an analysis and | 6 | | results of evaluations of
the respondent's mental and physical | 7 | | condition and, where
appropriate, educational condition, | 8 | | adaptive behavior and social skills,
which have been performed | 9 | | within 3 months of the date of the filing of the
petition, or, | 10 | | in the case of an intellectual disability, a psychological | 11 | | evaluation of the respondent that has been performed by a | 12 | | clinical psychologist licensed under the Clinical Psychologist | 13 | | Licensing Act, within one year of the date of the filing of the | 14 | | petition; (3) an opinion as to whether guardianship is
needed, | 15 | | the type and scope of the guardianship needed, and the reasons
| 16 | | therefor; (4) a recommendation as to the most suitable living | 17 | | arrangement
and, where appropriate, treatment or habilitation | 18 | | plan for the respondent
and the reasons therefor; (5) the | 19 | | name, business address, business telephone number, and | 20 | | signatures of all persons who performed
the evaluations upon | 21 | | which the report is based, one of whom shall be
a licensed | 22 | | physician, or may, in the case of an intellectual disability, | 23 | | be a clinical psychologist licensed under the Clinical | 24 | | Psychologist Licensing Act, and a statement of the | 25 | | certification, license, or other
credentials that qualify the | 26 | | evaluators who prepared the report.
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| 1 | | (b) If for any reason no report accompanies the petition, | 2 | | the court
shall order appropriate evaluations to be performed | 3 | | by a qualified
person or persons and a report prepared and | 4 | | filed with the court at least
10 days prior to the hearing.
| 5 | | (b-5) Upon oral or written motion by the respondent or the | 6 | | guardian ad
litem or upon the court's own motion, the court | 7 | | shall appoint one or more
independent experts to examine the | 8 | | respondent. Upon the filing with the
court of a verified | 9 | | statement of services rendered by the expert or
experts, the | 10 | | court shall determine a reasonable fee for the services
| 11 | | performed. If the respondent is unable to pay the fee, the | 12 | | court may
enter an order upon the petitioner to pay the entire | 13 | | fee or such
amount as
the respondent is unable to pay.
However, | 14 | | in cases where the Office of State Guardian is the petitioner,
| 15 | | consistent with Section 30 of the Guardianship and Advocacy | 16 | | Act, no expert
services fees shall be assessed against the | 17 | | Office of the State Guardian. | 18 | | (c) Unless the court otherwise directs, any report | 19 | | prepared pursuant
to this Section shall not be made
part of the | 20 | | public record of the proceedings but shall be available to
the | 21 | | court or an appellate court in which the proceedings are | 22 | | subject to
review, to the respondent, the petitioner, the | 23 | | guardian, and their
attorneys, to the
respondent's guardian ad | 24 | | litem, and to such other persons as the court
may direct.
| 25 | | Accessibility to a report prepared pursuant to this | 26 | | Section shall be in accordance with Section 5 of the Court |
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| 1 | | Record and Document Accessibility Act. | 2 | | (Source: P.A. 102-109, eff. 1-1-22 .)
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