Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Compiled Statutes

Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

720 ILCS 5/12C-25

    (720 ILCS 5/12C-25)
    Sec. 12C-25. Contributing to the dependency and neglect of a minor.

(a) Any parent, legal guardian or person having the custody of a child
under the age of 18 years commits contributing to the dependency and neglect of a minor when he or she  knowingly: (1) causes, aids, or
encourages such minor to be or to become a dependent and neglected minor; (2) does acts which directly
tend to render any such minor so dependent and neglected; or (3) fails to do that which will directly tend to prevent such state
of dependency and neglect. It is not a violation of this Section for a person
to relinquish a child in accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infant
Protection Act.

(b) "Dependent and neglected minor" means any child who, while under the age of 18 years, for any reason is destitute, homeless or abandoned; or dependent upon the public for support; or has not proper parental care or guardianship; or habitually begs or receives alms; or is found living in any house of ill fame or with any vicious or disreputable person; or has a home which by reason of neglect, cruelty or depravity on the part of its parents, guardian or any other person in whose care it may be is an unfit place for such child; and any child who while under the age of 10 years is found begging, peddling or selling any articles or singing or playing any musical instrument for gain upon the street or giving any public entertainments or accompanies or is used in aid of any person so doing.

(c) Sentence. A violation of this Section is a Class A misdemeanor.

(d)  The husband or wife of the defendant shall be a competent witness to testify in any case under this Section and to all matters relevant thereto.

(Source: P.A. 97-1109, eff. 1-1-13.)