(750 ILCS 5/606) (from Ch. 40, par. 606)
Sec. 606. Hearings.
(a) Custody proceedings shall receive priority in
being set for hearing.
(b) The court may tax as costs the payment of necessary travel and other
expenses incurred by any person whose presence at the hearing the court
deems necessary to determine the best interest of the child.
(c) The court, without a jury, shall determine questions of law and fact.
If it finds that a public hearing may be detrimental to the child's best
interest, the court may exclude the public from a custody hearing, but may
admit any person who has a direct and legitimate interest in the particular
case or a legitimate educational or research interest in the work of the court.
(d) If the court finds it necessary, in order to protect the child's
welfare,
that the record of any interview, report, investigation, or testimony in a
custody
proceeding be kept secret, the court may make an appropriate order sealing the
record.
(e) Previous statements made by the child relating to any allegations
that the child is an abused or neglected child within the meaning of the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, or an abused or neglected minor
within the meaning of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall be admissible
in evidence in a hearing concerning custody of or visitation with the
child. No such statement, however, if uncorroborated and not subject to
cross-examination, shall be sufficient in itself to support a finding of
abuse or neglect.
(f) Custody and visitation proceedings in which a parent is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is deployed or who has orders to be deployed shall, upon the request of either party or on the court's own motion receive expedited priority in being set for hearing. (g) In any custody or visitation proceeding in which a parent is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is deployed or who has orders to be deployed, the court shall, upon a request of the service member, permit the deployed parent who is unavailable to appear for the proceeding to testify by telephone, audiovisual means, or other electronic means. The court shall cooperate with the deployed parent in designating an appropriate location for the testimony. (Source: P.A. 97-659, eff. 6-1-12.)
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