Grandparent Visitation in Illinois
Grandparent visitation in Illinois, and the rest of the country has been something of a tennis match. The state legislatures, who were voted in office (by a large majority older people who happened to also be grandparents) have pushed for legislation that grants grandparents rights of visitation with their grandchildren in certain circumstances. The problem with that, is many of these statutes have interfered with the constitutional protections of parental rights. The constitution creates a presumption that parents are fit and act in the best interests of their children and that they have the fundamental right to make child-rearing decisions. So said the US Supreme Court in Troxel , 530 U.S. 57, 120 S. Ct. 2054 (2000). However the US Supreme Court did not strike down every grandparent visitation rights law in the land. It did say that these laws need to properly factor in parents fundamental rights before the state is justified in getting involved with child-rearing decisions.