SB1753enr 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1753 Enrolled LRB097 00137 AJO 47183 b

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 604 as follows:

(750 ILCS 5/604) (from Ch. 40, par. 604)

Sec. 604. Interviews.) (a) The court may interview the child in chambers to ascertain the child's wishes as to his custodian and as to visitation. Counsel shall be present at the interview unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties. The court shall cause a court reporter to be present who shall make a complete record of the interview instantaneously to be part of the record in the case.

(b) The court may seek the advice of professional personnel, whether or not employed by the court on a regular basis. The advice given shall be in writing and made available by the court to counsel. Counsel may examine, as a witness, any professional personnel consulted by the court, designated as a court's witness. Professional personnel consulted by the court are subject to subpoena for the purposes of discovery, trial, or both. The court shall allocate the costs and fees of those professional personnel between the parties based upon the financial ability of each party and any other criteria the court considers appropriate. Upon the request of any party or upon the court's own motion, the court may conduct a hearing as to the reasonableness of those fees and costs.

(Source: P.A. 80-923.)