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GOVERNOR QUINN SIGNS HB5428 INTO LAW, MAKING ILLINOIS THE 10^TH STATE TO RELEASE OBC'S TO ADOPTEES !

State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) cheers as Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signs HB5428 into law on May 21, 2010. Surrounding Rep. Feigenholtz and Governor Quinn at the bill signing are, from left to right, Sheba Seif of Agudath Israel; Jackie Kaplan, adoptive mother, and her adopted son, David; Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston); Howard Griffith, adoptee and former NFL full back; Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi (D-Joliet); and Melisha Mitchell, Executive Director of the White Oak Foundation. Photo by John H. White of the Chicago Sun Times)

The day we've all been waiting for has finally arrived! On May 21, 2010, Illinois became the tenth state in the United States to authorize the release of original birth certificates to adult adopted persons upon request.

For adopted persons born prior to January 1, 1946, the law takes effect immediately. Please click here for additional information and instructions for obtaining your obc if you were born prior to January 1, 1946 (or if you wish to obtain the obc of a deceased spouse or parent who was born prior to 1/1/1946 ).

Adult adopted persons over the age of 21 who were born after January 1, 1946,
will have to wait until November 15, 2011, to begin requesting copies of their obc's. Please click here for additional information and instructions for obtaining your obc if you were born on or after 1/1/1946 (or if you wish to obtain the obc of a deceased spouse or parent who was born on or after 1/1/1946 ).

Birth parents of adopted persons who were born on or after January 1, 1946, may file an information veto with the state Registry and request that their first name, last name and/or last known address be removed from any copies of the obc released during their lifetime. Birth parents of adopted persons born before OR after 1/1/1946 may share medical and social background information with an adult adoptee and/or indicate a desire to initiate contact with their birth son or daughter by filing the relevant forms with the Registry. Please click here for additional information and instructions.

Here is a quick recap of the new law's main provisions:

• Provides for the release of the original birth certificate to an adopted person born prior to January 1, 1946, upon written request.

• Provides for the release of the original birth certificate to an adopted person born after January 1, 1946, upon written request, beginning November 15, 2011, providing he or she is over the age of 21 and one or both birth parents listed on the original birth certificate has not requested anonymity through the state Registry. A request for anonymity by one birth parent does not prohibit the release of identifying information pertaining to the other birth parent.

• Creates a Birth Parent Preference Form which allows birth parents to indicate their wishes regarding contact and the release of identifying information and/or provide non-identifying information to their surrendered children at the time of relinquishment OR any time thereafter.

• Releases a copy of the original birth certificate to surviving spouses and surviving children over the age of 21 of deceased adopted persons who have registered with the Illinois Adoption Registry (same caveats as for adult adopted persons).

• Releases a copy of the original birth certificate to adopted persons whose birth parents have filed a request for anonymity in cases where the birth parent is deceased and a death certificate has been filed with the Registry (effective immediately, even in cases where the adopted person was born after 1/1/1946).

• Authorizes adopted persons who are the subject of a request for anonymity to conduct a FREE confidential intermediary search to obtain updated medical information and/or to ascertain whether the birth parent still wishes to remain anonymous once five years have elapsed since the birth parent filed the request for anonymity. Adoptees who are the subject of a request for anonymity may also request a second intermediary search once ten years have elapsed since their initial search. Should the intermediary learn that the birth parent is deceased, he/she will now be required to obtain a copy of the birth parent’s death certificate and submit it to the Registry so that the original birth certificate can be immediately released to the adoptee.

• Specifies that the filing requirements and filing fees for adopted persons seeking to obtain their original birth certificates shall be the same as those required of non-adopted persons requesting copies of their birth certificates.

• While adoptees seeking copies of their obc are not required to sign up with the state Registry, in cases where Vital Records possesses medical background information, pictures, letters or requests for contact from birth family members of an adopted person who has not signed up with the Registry, they will let the adoptee know and give him or her the opportunity to sign up with the Registry.

To see local news coverage of this historic event (along with interviews of White Oak's Executive Director, Melisha Mitchell, and her birth daughter, Elizabeth Hutchison) please click here and here....

A not-for-profit
organization offering
a wide range of
programs & services
aimed at facilitating the
post-adopton experience
for Illinois adoptees &
their birth and
adoptive families...

for additional information:

ILtreesurgeon@aol.com

or call: 312-666-5721