Bill Title: Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that a neglected minor includes any minor (rather than a minor under 14 years) whose parent or other person responsible for the minor's welfare leaves the minor without supervision for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that minor. Provides that a minor shall not be considered neglected for the sole reason that the minor was engaged in independent activities, except if the person responsible for the minor's health, safety, or welfare willfully disregards danger that the independent activity poses to the physical or mental health of the minor under circumstances when the danger is sufficiently obvious that no reasonable person would cause or permit the minor to be unsupervised in such a situation given the minor's level of maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities. Provides factors that must be considered in determining if a minor's needs can be sufficiently met during an independent activity. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 to change the child abandonment statute. Deletes language providing that a person commits child abandonment by leaving a child who is under the age of 13 without supervision by a responsible person over the age of 14 for a period of 24 hours or more. Provides instead that a person commits child abandonment when he or she, as a parent, guardian, or other person having physical custody or control of a child, without regard for the mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that child, knowingly permits a child to engage in independent activities that were unreasonable under the circumstances or for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the minor's mental or physical health, safety or well-being. Provides that no specific age shall be determinative of reasonableness, and that reasonableness shall be determined by the maturity of each individual child. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-30 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0233 [SB1834 Detail]

Text: Latest bill text (Chaptered) [HTML]

---

Sponsors

Name	Type	Sponsorship	District	Financial	Encyclopedia	Biography
Senator Elgie Sims [D]	Primary	Sponsored Bills	SD-017	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Senator Sara Feigenholtz [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	SD-006	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Justin Slaughter [D]	Primary	Sponsored Bills	HD-027	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Mary Flowers [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-031	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Carol Ammons [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-103	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Senator Lakesia Collins [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	SD-005	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Sonya Harper [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-006	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart
Representative Janet Yang Rohr [D]	Cosponsor	Sponsored Bills	HD-041	FollowTheMoney	Ballotpedia	VoteSmart

Social Comments on IL SB1834