Public Act 097-0047
 
SB1753 EnrolledLRB097 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.)