Monday, June 10, 2013

Illinois passes right of first refusal

Illinois Fathers reports:
In an historic move, Illinois unanimously passed the ‘Right of First Refusal’ on May 22 (HB2992, 98th Session).

Illinois becomes the first state to explicitly call for consideration of the ‘Right of First Refusal’ in a parenting plan or court order.

It will be added as Section 602.3 to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The bill is currently on the governor’s desk for his expected signature.

‘Right of First Refusal’ is a guarantee that anytime a parent needs someone to watch the children, they must ask the other parent first. This gives a parent the opportunity to watch the children when the other parent has them.
Sounds great, right?
The court is given the maximum discretion in determining if ‘Right of First Refusal’ is in the child’s best interest.
I guess this is progress, but it is not much of a right if some stupid judge has the discretion to take it away based on his own prejudices.

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