Bill Text: IL HB5654 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Includes, in the definition of "abuse", the following: (i) coercive control that is a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions to harm an individual, stripping away the individual's sense of self and making the individual dependent by isolating, exploiting, and regulating the individual's behavior; (ii) emotional distress that undermines an individual's self-worth and self-esteem through constant criticism, diminishing abilities, and damaging relationships; (iii) psychological abuse that causes fear by intimidation, threatening harm, destroying property, and forcing isolation; as part of coercive control, it is a pattern of actions to harm, punish, or frighten that involves isolation, financial control, and coercion; and (iv) physical abuse or assault that includes actions such as hitting, slapping, and denying medical care. Requires that courts offer the option of a remote hearing to a petition for an order of protection that is now limited to counties with a population of more than 250,000. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Domestic Violence Victims' Expense Fund as a special fund in the State treasury for the purpose of assisting domestic violence victims in covering the expense of traveling to and from and participating in the domestic violence proceedings.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5654 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5654-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5654 Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new
30 ILCS 105/6z-140 new
750 ILCS 60/103 from Ch. 40, par. 2311-3
750 ILCS 60/205 from Ch. 40, par. 2312-5
750 ILCS 60/212 from Ch. 40, par. 2312-12
Amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. Includes, in the definition of "abuse", the following: (i) coercive control that is a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions to harm an individual, stripping away the individual's sense of self and making the individual dependent by isolating, exploiting, and regulating the individual's behavior; (ii) emotional distress that undermines an individual's self-worth and self-esteem through constant criticism, diminishing abilities, and damaging relationships; (iii) psychological abuse that causes fear by intimidation, threatening harm, destroying property, and forcing isolation; as part of coercive control, it is a pattern of actions to harm, punish, or frighten that involves isolation, financial control, and coercion; and (iv) physical abuse or assault that includes actions such as hitting, slapping, and denying medical care. Requires that courts offer the option of a remote hearing to a petition for an order of protection that is now limited to counties with a population of more than 250,000. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Domestic Violence Victims' Expense Fund as a special fund in the State treasury for the purpose of assisting domestic violence victims in covering the expense of traveling to and from and participating in the domestic violence proceedings.
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A BILL FOR
HB5654 LRB103 36095 LNS 66185 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 State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.1015 and 6z-140 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new)
Sec. 5.1015. The Domestic Violence Victims' Expense Fund.
(30 ILCS 105/6z-140 new)
Sec. 6z-140. Domestic Violence Victims' Expense Fund. The
Domestic Violence Victims' Expense Fund is created as a
special fund in the State treasury. In addition to any other
amounts deposited into the Fund, there shall be deposited into
the Fund all moneys donated to the State by private
individuals or entities for purposes for which moneys in the
Fund may be used as provided in this Section. Subject to
appropriations, the Department of Children and Family Services
shall use moneys in the Fund to make grants to defray the
reasonable and necessary travel expenses of victims of
domestic violence to participate and travel to domestic
violence proceedings. The Department shall adopt rules
necessary for making grants under this Section.

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Section 10. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is
amended by changing Sections 103, 205, and 212 as follows:
(750 ILCS 60/103) (from Ch. 40, par. 2311-3)
Sec. 103. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, the
following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Abuse" means any of the following:
(A) Coercive control that is a pattern of threatening,
humiliating, or intimidating actions to harm an
individual, stripping away the individual's sense of self
and making the individual dependent by isolating,
exploiting, and regulating the individual's behavior.
(B) Emotional distress that undermines an individual's
self-worth and self-esteem through constant criticism,
diminishing abilities, and damaging relationships.
(C) Psychological abuse that causes fear by
intimidation, threatening harm, destroying property, and
forcing isolation. As part of coercive control, it is a
pattern of actions to harm, punish, or frighten that
involves isolation, financial control, and coercion.
(D) Physical abuse or assault that includes actions
such as hitting, slapping, and denying medical care
physical abuse, harassment, intimidation of a dependent,
interference with personal liberty or willful deprivation
but does not include reasonable direction of a minor child
by a parent or person in loco parentis.

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(2) "Adult with disabilities" means an elder adult with
disabilities or a high-risk adult with disabilities. A person
may be an adult with disabilities for purposes of this Act even
though he or she has never been adjudicated an incompetent
adult. However, no court proceeding may be initiated or
continued on behalf of an adult with disabilities over that
adult's objection, unless such proceeding is approved by his
or her legal guardian, if any.
(3) "Domestic violence" means abuse as defined in
paragraph (1).
(4) "Elder adult with disabilities" means an adult
prevented by advanced age from taking appropriate action to
protect himself or herself from abuse by a family or household
member.
(5) "Exploitation" means the illegal, including tortious,
use of a high-risk adult with disabilities or of the assets or
resources of a high-risk adult with disabilities. Exploitation
includes, but is not limited to, the misappropriation of
assets or resources of a high-risk adult with disabilities by
undue influence, by breach of a fiduciary relationship, by
fraud, deception, or extortion, or the use of such assets or
resources in a manner contrary to law.
(6) "Family or household members" include spouses, former
spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other persons
related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who
share or formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have

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or allegedly have a child in common, persons who share or
allegedly share a blood relationship through a child, persons
who have or have had a dating or engagement relationship,
persons with disabilities and their personal assistants, and
caregivers as defined in Section 12-4.4a of the Criminal Code
of 2012. For purposes of this paragraph, neither a casual
acquaintanceship nor ordinary fraternization between 2
individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to
constitute a dating relationship. In the case of a high-risk
adult with disabilities, "family or household members"
includes any person who has the responsibility for a high-risk
adult as a result of a family relationship or who has assumed
responsibility for all or a portion of the care of a high-risk
adult with disabilities voluntarily, or by express or implied
contract, or by court order.
(7) "Harassment" means knowing conduct which is not
necessary to accomplish a purpose that is reasonable under the
circumstances; would cause a reasonable person emotional
distress; and does cause emotional distress to the petitioner.
Unless the presumption is rebutted by a preponderance of the
evidence, the following types of conduct shall be presumed to
cause emotional distress:
(i) creating a disturbance at petitioner's place of
employment or school;
(ii) repeatedly telephoning petitioner's place of
employment, home or residence;

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(iii) repeatedly following petitioner about in a
public place or places;
(iv) repeatedly keeping petitioner under surveillance
by remaining present outside his or her home, school,
place of employment, vehicle or other place occupied by
petitioner or by peering in petitioner's windows;
(v) improperly concealing a minor child from
petitioner, repeatedly threatening to improperly remove a
minor child of petitioner's from the jurisdiction or from
the physical care of petitioner, repeatedly threatening to
conceal a minor child from petitioner, or making a single
such threat following an actual or attempted improper
removal or concealment, unless respondent was fleeing an
incident or pattern of domestic violence; or
(vi) threatening physical force, confinement or
restraint on one or more occasions.
(8) "High-risk adult with disabilities" means a person
aged 18 or over whose physical or mental disability impairs
his or her ability to seek or obtain protection from abuse,
neglect, or exploitation.
(9) "Interference with personal liberty" means committing
or threatening physical abuse, harassment, intimidation or
willful deprivation so as to compel another to engage in
conduct from which she or he has a right to abstain or to
refrain from conduct in which she or he has a right to engage.
(10) "Intimidation of a dependent" means subjecting a

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person who is dependent because of age, health or disability
to participation in or the witnessing of: physical force
against another or physical confinement or restraint of
another which constitutes physical abuse as defined in this
Act, regardless of whether the abused person is a family or
household member.
(11) (A) "Neglect" means the failure to exercise that
degree of care toward a high-risk adult with disabilities
which a reasonable person would exercise under the
circumstances and includes but is not limited to:
(i) the failure to take reasonable steps to protect a
high-risk adult with disabilities from acts of abuse;
(ii) the repeated, careless imposition of unreasonable
confinement;
(iii) the failure to provide food, shelter, clothing,
and personal hygiene to a high-risk adult with
disabilities who requires such assistance;
(iv) the failure to provide medical and rehabilitative
care for the physical and mental health needs of a
high-risk adult with disabilities; or
(v) the failure to protect a high-risk adult with
disabilities from health and safety hazards.
(B) Nothing in this subsection (10) shall be construed to
impose a requirement that assistance be provided to a
high-risk adult with disabilities over his or her objection in
the absence of a court order, nor to create any new affirmative

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duty to provide support to a high-risk adult with
disabilities.
(12) "Order of protection" means an emergency order,
interim order or plenary order, granted pursuant to this Act,
which includes any or all of the remedies authorized by
Section 214 of this Act.
(13) "Petitioner" may mean not only any named petitioner
for the order of protection and any named victim of abuse on
whose behalf the petition is brought, but also any other
person protected by this Act.
(14) "Physical abuse" includes sexual abuse and means any
of the following:
(i) knowing or reckless use of physical force,
confinement or restraint;
(ii) knowing, repeated and unnecessary sleep
deprivation; or
(iii) knowing or reckless conduct which creates an
immediate risk of physical harm.
(14.5) "Stay away" means for the respondent to refrain
from both physical presence and nonphysical contact with the
petitioner whether direct, indirect (including, but not
limited to, telephone calls, mail, email, faxes, and written
notes), or through third parties who may or may not know about
the order of protection.
(15) "Willful deprivation" means wilfully denying a person
who because of age, health or disability requires medication,

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medical care, shelter, accessible shelter or services, food,
therapeutic device, or other physical assistance, and thereby
exposing that person to the risk of physical, mental or
emotional harm, except with regard to medical care or
treatment when the dependent person has expressed an intent to
forgo such medical care or treatment. This paragraph does not
create any new affirmative duty to provide support to
dependent persons.
(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
(750 ILCS 60/205) (from Ch. 40, par. 2312-5)
Sec. 205. Application of rules of civil procedure;
Domestic abuse advocates.
(a) Any proceeding to obtain, modify, reopen or appeal an
order of protection, whether commenced alone or in conjunction
with a civil or criminal proceeding, shall be governed by the
rules of civil procedure of this State. The standard of proof
in such a proceeding is proof by a preponderance of the
evidence, whether the proceeding is heard in criminal or civil
court. The Code of Civil Procedure and Supreme Court and local
court rules applicable to civil proceedings, as now or
hereafter amended, shall apply, except as otherwise provided
by this law.
(b) (1) In all circuit court proceedings under this Act,
domestic abuse advocates shall be allowed to attend and sit at
counsel table and confer with the victim, unless otherwise

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directed by the court.
(2) In criminal proceedings in circuit courts, domestic
abuse advocates shall be allowed to accompany the victim and
confer with the victim, unless otherwise directed by the
court.
(3) Court administrators shall allow domestic abuse
advocates to assist victims of domestic violence in the
preparation of petitions for orders of protection.
(4) Domestic abuse advocates are not engaged in the
unauthorized practice of law when providing assistance of the
types specified in this subsection (b).
(c) The Supreme Court of Illinois may adopt rules that
promote the use of attorneys serving on a pro bono basis to
represent victims under this Act.
(Source: P.A. 87-1186; 87-1255; 88-45.)
(750 ILCS 60/212) (from Ch. 40, par. 2312-12)
Sec. 212. Hearings.
(a) A petition for an order of protection shall be treated
as an expedited proceeding, and no court shall transfer or
otherwise decline to decide all or part of such petition
except as otherwise provided herein. Nothing in this Section
shall prevent the court from reserving issues when
jurisdiction or notice requirements are not met.
(b) Any court or a division thereof which ordinarily does
not decide matters of child custody and family support may

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decline to decide contested issues of physical care, custody,
visitation, or family support unless a decision on one or more
of those contested issues is necessary to avoid the risk of
abuse, neglect, removal from the State or concealment within
the State of the child or of separation of the child from the
primary caretaker. If the court or division thereof has
declined to decide any or all of these issues, then it shall
transfer all undecided issues to the appropriate court or
division. In the event of such a transfer, a government
attorney involved in the criminal prosecution may, but need
not, continue to offer counsel to the petitioner on
transferred matters.
(c) If the court transfers or otherwise declines to decide
any issue, judgment on that issue shall be expressly reserved
and ruling on other issues shall not be delayed or declined.
(d) A court
in a county with a population above 250,000
shall offer the option of a remote hearing to a petitioner for
an order of protection. The court has the discretion to grant
or deny the request for a remote hearing. Each court shall
determine the procedure for a remote hearing. The petitioner
and respondent may appear remotely or in person.
The court shall issue and publish a court order, standing
order, or local rule detailing information about the process
for requesting and participating in a remote court appearance.
The court order, standing order, or local rule shall be
published on the court's website and posted on signs

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