IL HB1609

Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act to add penalties for false allegations of child abuse in custody proceedings.

A false allegation that a child is abused or neglected operates as an absolute bar to the accusing parent's right to make decisions regarding the child's upbringing, including education, religious training, and medical treatment.

Defines "false allegation" as one known to be false or that a reasonable person should have known to be false, including Department of Children and Family Services findings of "not substantiated" abuse or dispositions under lower standards of evidence.

Failure to report alleged abuse contemporaneously to law enforcement or the Department of Children and Family Services constitutes conclusive evidence that the allegation is false.

A parent barred from making decisions retains reasonable parenting time with the child, but a second false allegation by the same parent results in permanent loss of parenting time in addition to previous sanctions.