The Supreme Court may authorize appellate districts to undertake and conduct settlement conference programs. Such programs shall be provided at no additional court costs to the parties beyond the appellate filing fees as established by the Supreme Court.
Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 310.1
Committee Comments
(March 8, 2016)
Special Supreme Court Committee on Child Custody Issues
The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, Pub. Act 99-90 (eff. Jan. 1, 2016) (amending 750 ILCS 5/101 et seq.), has changed the terms "Custody," "Visitation" (as to parents) and "Removal" to "Allocation of Parental Responsibilities," "Parenting Time" and "Relocation." These rules are being amended to reflect those changes. The rules utilize both "custody" and "allocation of parental responsibilities" in recognition that some legislative enactments covered by the rules utilize the term "custody" while the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 utilize the term "allocation of parental responsibilities." The Special Committee has attempted to adhere to the usage found in the applicable legislative enactments.