ILLINOIS OPEN

Illinois Confidential Intermediary Law Rules Supreme

2010-07-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

"... if you choose to use the state-run Confidential Intermediary Program, you should know that there will be yet another file being compiled about you and it will be withheld from you - forever."

Confidential Intermediary - CI
Original birth certificate - OBC

Illinois' current CI law has a goal of helping adoptees to search and find birth parents while at the same time "protecting" birth parents by withholding all identifying information about them until they are found and they can fill out a preference form about whether or not they wish to have any contact with their adoptee. Only if a "found" birth mother consents to contact will there be any information exchanged. The overriding rule governing the entire CI system is that no identifying information will ever be issued to any adoptee UNLESS THE BIRTH MOTHER CONSENTS. Now where have I heard that before?

This situation oozes with irony. Adoptees with OBCs in hand will soon be coming to the CI program. However, once they sign up to use the CI system, the adoptees will not be entitled to ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION gathered by the CIs before (when the CI's secure the adoption records from the state), during, and after the search.

Even with you own OBC in hand, if you select the CI system to help you search, you are kept out in the cold. The state still withholds from you ALL information gathered by the CIs in order to "protect" a birth mother's anonymity. This is kind of funny, because all these adoptees will already know their birth mother's identity.

At the conclusion of all CI searches, no matter the outcome, all of the information that the CIs have gathered about you will go straight into a confidedntial CI file and will never be released to you. I know because I tried to get this information.

Any searching adoptee will tell you that no clue is too small to be considered. Ninety-nine people can take a look at the same set of facts, and they will all reach the same conclusion. Then along comes one other person who looks at the very same raw data, but comes to a different conclusion. I thought that maybe I could be that 100th person.

I wrote to Nancy Golden, one of the owners of Midwest Adoption Center and my personal CI. I requested copies of everything that is in my CI file. After all, my case was considered unsuccessful and it was dismissed after two years. Wouldn't you think, though, there must be some notes lying around somewhere? That's what I thought.

I have to go back a few years in my story now. About a year after being dumped by the CIs.   I petitioned the Cook County Circuit Court. I asked the court for copies of everything that existed in my adoption file, plus a copy of my original birth certificate. I won the case and the late Judge Stephen Yates ordered copies of all of these adoption records turned over to me.

As the days went by, I began to wonder.  What happened to all of the information that the CIs had collected during my 2-year long search? There must have been a lot of stuff. Where was it now? I figured that in some file there must be working copies of obits, marriage, divorce, and death certificates, birth certificates, census records, church records, military papers, etc. --all information that is open to public inspection. So why shouldn't it be opened to me?

Because... I was still thinking of myself as that 100th person who just might glean something different from all that material. And so I wrote my request.

I received a reply from Kathleen Hogan Morrison, Attorney for Midwest Adoption Center. It was her legal opinion that the Illinois CI law does not permit CIs to ever release any data that they collect during a search.

The section of the law that Attorney Morrison referred me to states that any CI who improperly discloses information identifying a birth parent shall be “liable to the birth parent for damages and may also be found in contempt of court.” She continued to site the law, which says: “(2) Any person who learns a birth parent’s identity, directly or indirectly, through the use of procedures provided in this Section and who improperly discloses information identifying the birth parent shall be liable to the birth parent for actual damages plus minimum punitive dames of $10,000.” [750 ILCS 50/18.3a.)

        But Attorney Morrison. I already know the
       identity of my birth parents.

        Shut up and keep reading.

“Ms. Field is incorrect in her assertion that ‘the legal barrier of confidentiality has been lifted.’ In fact, confidentiality continues. Neither Midwest Adoption Center nor any Confidential Intermediary has the right to share identifying information about other people, which may or may not be in the Confidential Intermediary file. The prohibitions and sanctions set forth in Sections 18.3 (a) are intact. The Confidential Intermediary file may not be released to Ms. Field.”

So, if you choose to use the state-run Confidential Intermediary Program, you should know that there will be yet another file being compiled about you and it will also be withheld from you - permanently.

I believed that after my win in court and a new law stating that I was fit to have my OBC , I would at long last be in possession of all state-held files about me. Wrong! There's still a file somewhere, layered with dust and stained with spilled coffee stains, with MY NAME on it. This file is being withheld from me by the state.

How can anyone say that adoptees are treated in the same way as non-adopted citizens? It just ain't so.

Grannie Annie

URGENT ACTION ALERT RE: HB 5428

2010-04-10T06:31:00.001-07:00

See Illinois Open Organization for an urgent action alert. HB 5428 does not restore civil rights to all adopted adults and it must be stopped in its tracks.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a public hearing on Tuesday April 13. We realize that not everyone feels comfortable doing public speaking but we do need opponents present to help fill the room.

If you cannot make it to the hearing, by all means contact the senators. Contact information is on our Web site.

ACTION ALERT

2010-03-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

Illinois Open Organization has an Action Alert posted at www.ilopen.org. Everyone's help is needed to stop HB 5428 in its tracks. You will find a sample letter and email addresses for the senators at our Web site.

Please do not hesitate to contact the senators TODAY!

2010-03-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

ILLINOISOPEN ORGANIZATION
http://www.ilopen.org

BASTARD NATION: THE ADOPTEE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION
www.bastard.org
___________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE
March 22, 2010
For Immediate Release

CONTACT INFORMATION

Anita Walker Field, 1-847-677-0594
Marley Greiner, 1-614-571-2999
Mary Lynn Fuller, 1-217-722-4814

ADOPTEE RIGHTS SQUASHED AGAIN IN NEW ILLINOIS BILL – HB 5428.

On March 19, 2010, The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill that purports to give all adopted adults access to their original birth certificates. On March 23, 2010, HB 5428 GOES TO THE SENATE, awaiting committee assignment.

Under HB 5428, birth mothers will be allowed to file affidavits of denial – meaning that a birth mother can veto an adoptee’s right to access his or her original birth certificate.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STEP TO TAKE. IT CREATES AND CODIFIES A NEW RIGHT THAT HAS NEVER BEFORE BEEN IN OUR ADOPTION ACT.

2. Allows the state to delete a variety of identifying information from official documents, depending upon a birth mother’s response.

We believe:
HB 5428 needs to be amended in the Senate so that it would restore to ALL adoptees access to their original birth certificates, without any restrictions, such as prior parental approval. If that cannot happen, then HB 5428 must be pulled or left to die in committee.
Text of Bill: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09600HB5428lv&SessionID=76&GA=96&DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=5428&print=true

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE

2009-09-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

In Illinois the original birth certificate is sealed when the final order of adoption is issued. An amended birth certificate is then issued for the adoptee.

The original birth certificate is issued within a short time of the birth. It can include names of both parents. But often when it is known that a child will be placed for adoption, only the name of the mother is included. The line for the father might state, "legally omitted". Often the child will have the same surname as the mother but there are cases where the surname of the father is used. This will usually be when the father's name is included but that is not always the case. Ages for named parents are included and their place of birth.

An amended birth certificate is issued at the time the adoption is finalized. But the date of issuance is often falsified. In fact on mine, the date used was before my parents even knew that I had been born. But this goes along with all the altering that happens. The child's name becomes the one the adoptive parents choose. Sometimes when a child is named at birth, their given name will be kept or used for the middle name. But the surname will become the same as the adoptive parents'. The certificate will show that the adoptive mother gave birth to the child. The address of the adoptive parents will be used and often their occupations are stated. If one did not know better, it would be thought that the child was born to the couple.

It seems to be rather common among those not personally touched by adoption to not know that the adoptee does indeed have an original birth certificate that Illinois adoption laws prohibit them from accessing. Public awareness in this matter is vital so when we speak out for our original birth certificate (OBC) it is understood what we want. Adults not adopted can request and receive their OBC. It is something taken for granted just like we all take different things for granted when there is no problem in obtaining it. Please do not hesitate to explain the difference to those who are not aware that adoptees do have two different birth certificates

TRIBUTE TO ANTHONY "TONY" S. VILARDI

2009-06-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Many of you are aware of the International Soundex Reunion Registry (ISRR). It was founded by Emma May Vilardi in 1975 and was funded by her husband “Tony”. ISRR is a mutual consent reunion registry supported entirely by donations. I have always had the greatest respect for Emma and “Tony”. He stepped in to do even more after his wife’s death until he retired a few years ago.

“Tony” passed away at the age of 78 on June 14, 2009. ISRR has reunited many although I was not one of them. Perhaps if my birth mother had lived longer, she would have registered with ISRR just as I did. After my search was completed I did notify "Tony" and he wrote me a very nice note to include along with returning my registration form. He definitely did not have to go this extra mile. I had notified him because of all the registrations that they receive and thought of it as less paperwork for them to keep on file.

My feeling is that both Emma and "Tony" had a habit of going the extra mile. I have always been quick to refer those searching to ISRR and stress how trustworthy I feel they must be. I have never known them to prey upon the vulnerable as some other registry owners have done.

Thank you Emma & "Tony"! We hope that your dedication will be carried on so the registry continues to reunite people.

Illinois Adoptees - Petitioning the Court

2009-04-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

ILLINOIS ADOPTEES - PETITIONING THE COURT

In this blog, I want to talk about the only way Illinois adoptees are allowed by law to get their records unsealed. I must preface my blog with this important fact: I am not an attorney, a legal aide, nor have I have had anything to do with the legal profession. I'm a retired Chicago public school teacher and have been in the adoption reform movement for many years. I'm Grannie Annie and I have been through the Confidential Intermediary System, the Adoption Registry, several private investigators, and finally, in 1997, as a last resort, I went to the Circuit Court of Cook County, pro se, and successfully petitioned for all of my adoption records and my original birth certificate.

I do know of other Illinois adoptees who have been successful in getting their birth records from judges in this state. But not many. I don't want this blog to give you any false hope, because there isn't much to hope for in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois is one tough state for getting records unsealed. Illinois is a "closed state" as far as adoption records are concerned. But since it's still the only way, it deserves as much thought as possible.

I thought it was at least time to talk about our sealed records and bring together some of the stories I've heard with my own experiences.

I plan to throw in as many general and specific tips and opinions and experiences as I can. You might consider this blog like a menu in a Chinese Restaurant. You could choose 3 ideas from Column A, one hint from Column B, and perhaps nothing from Column C. My goal is to present you with as full a menu as I can of things to chose from and ideas to work with. Hopefully, my ideas here can be jumping off points for your own thoughts on "how to."

The issues I want to talk about are not search and/or reunion issues. I am going to try to keep my comments focused on how an adoptee might be able to try and get his or her adoption file and original birth certificate from the court.

Here is the law that all of us Illinois adoptees live under:

"...All adoption records maintained by each circuit court clerk shall be impounded in accordance with the procedures provided by the Illinois Supreme Court's General Administrative Order on Recordkeeping and shall be opened for examination only upon specific order of the court, which order shall name the person or persons who are to be permitted to examine the file. Certified copies of all papers and documents contained in any file so impounded shall be made only on like order..." 750 ILCS 50/18 (from Ch. 40, per 1522) Records, Confidential.

This means that an adoptee has a STATUTORY RIGHT to ask the judge to release his or her original birth records. You do NOT have to go through the Confidential Intermediary System. You may, however, get hit up for $40 for the Adoption Registry. ( Pay to play. After all, we are in Illinois.) If your first petition is turned down, don't think it's all over. You are allowed to AMEND ( not appeal) your petition with new evidence and resubmit it to the court. And believe it or not, you don't have to pay a new filing fee, either.

HOW TO GET STARTED

1. You must write to the county court in the county in which your adoption was finalized. It's wise to call and find out the name of the judge who handles adoption issues so you can address him/her by name in your letter. If you're good at chatting, then the judge's clerk is the person you want to befriend. Chat up the clerk and you never know what help or good advice you may get.

2. Your first contact should probably be a personal letter to the judge asking the court to release to you certified copies of your original birth certificate and/or your adoption file. In this letter, summarize why you need the records; ie: your good cause. In this letter, you might want to request an appointment with the judge to discuss it further. (not all judges will do this.) Or perhaps you could ask the judge how he/she prefers to proceed with your petition.

3. If you don't live in the area now, then you should think of your first letter as your actual petition. Therefore, it should be complete. Lay out your case in a very specific manner, together with all of your supporting evidence ( doctor's letters, etc.)

4. Personally, I believe it would be better to try and make some face to face contact with the judge, if possible. In my humble opinion, it's too easy to turn down a letter.

WHAT SHOULD YOU ASK FOR

Your original birth certificate is held in Springfield by the IL Dept. of Public Health. The adoption file is under the auspices of the county clerk in the county where your adoption was finalized.

You have a choice. You can ask for your original birth certificate, your adoption file, or both. I asked for everything because I figured I'd never get another shot at going to court. You might want to take a safe route and just ask for your "original birth documents" and see what happens. But if the judge should ask you exactly what you are petitioning for, be prepared to be specific in what you want and why. In my case, the judge seemed surprised that I wanted anything more than my original birth certificate. I got the sense that asking for it alone would have been easier.

You should always request your original birth certificate with no deletions, white-outs, or other falsifications. When requesting your adoption file, you might say: "I am requesting my entire adoption file, including but not limited to the adoption decree, petition to adopt, consent to adopt, medical histories, photos, personal letters, and relinquishment documents."

The court is not legally mandated to release any files belonging to any private adoption agency, adoption attorney, or hospital.

Always have your signature notarized and always send your letters by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Remember! Be sure to state, up front in your first letter, that you DO NOT want to avail yourself of the Confidential Intermediary service. If someone asks you why, tell them you are not interested in search and reunion; rather, you need to have your own birth records - now. Otherwise you will most likely get the "bait and switch."

BAIT AND SWITCH

Needless to say, be precise with your request. Do not let them appease you with non-identifying information.

What usually happens in Illinois (at least in Cook County) is that the judge's office will almost always refer all adoptees' requests to the Illinois Adoption Registry Medical Information Exchange (IAMIE) and/or to the Illinois Confidential Intermediary program. Both of these programs are geared for search and reunion only. Original records are NOT routinely issued through either of these systems. There is however one exception. If a "match" is made through the Mutual Consent Registry or the CI program, an original birth certificate will be issued to the adoptee, provided the birth mother cooperates.

How many matches has the Adoption Registry made? Well, from its inception in 1985 through January, 2009, 11,034 people have registered. A grand total of 731 matches were made. You can do the math.

Don't forget! There is no where in the law that says an adoptee must first go through the Confidential Intermediary system before asking the judge to open the records. The CI system and the Adoption Registry are only concerned with locating people; the court is concerned with maintaining the records.

If your goal is to gain possession of your own original records, then it's the judge you want, not confidential intermediaries and not registries.

ILLINOIS IS A "GOOD CAUSE" STATE

Illinois is a "good cause" state which means that the state requires you to provide good cause for your request. Ironically, nowhere does the state tell you what actually constitutes good cause. Therefore, courts look at previous case law to determine what is NOT GOOD CAUSE. I know this sounds crazy, but then, you are in Illinois.

There is one big case in Illinois, in re Roger B., brought by Yesterday's Children in 1979-80. The precedents established in Roger B. are still the barometer used by our courts. Judges look to this case as a precedent for what is NOT GOOD CAUSE.

Therefore, when I was preparing my petition, I tried to find some type of good cause that applied to me but that was not mentioned in Roger B. You want to show that your circumstances are significantly different from those presented in Roger B. [ I have attached a summary of the decisions in re Roger B. at the end of this blog. ]

RELEASE OF RECORDS BASED UPON A SHOWING OF MEDICAL EMERGENCY IS NOT MENTIONED IN ROGER B. RELEASE OF RECORDS BASED UPON A SHOWING OF PSYCHOLOGICAL NECESSITY IS NOT MENTIONED EITHER.

Any reason/s you use for your good cause should be backed up by supporting evidence, the more the better. For example if your request is medical or psychological necessity, then try to have as many letters from doctors, counselors, psychologists, social workers or other professionals as you can get. For both medical and psychological necessity, stress that your problem is a CONTINUING one and that is the reason why you need your records now. Your problem will continue to go on, possibly unanswered or untreated or not properly diagnosed, unless you get your records.

You should also ask the judge to please consider your case within the framework of Doe v. Sundquist (1997 Fed app. 0051P 6 Cir.) This important federal case does not tell a judge to open birth records, but it allows a judge to consider your case in the light of this new case law. That is, Doe v. Sundquist makes it difficult to argue that giving adult adoptees access to their birth records violates any provisions of the federal constitution.

You could remind the judge that you've read or heard that case law is not a static, limited concept, but a broad one that must be determined on a case by case basis, depending in large measure upon the unique facts presented to the court. This is very important.

Another very important issue is maintaining the integrity of the state's adoption policies. The state is concerned with its adoption process and its confidentiality and what might happen to it if judges started releasing too many adoption records. Therefore, you would want to make your case as narrow and as unique as you can, so the judge will feel confident that if he/she releases records to you, he won't be setting any wide range precedents. Judges do not want to set any precedents. And they don't want any of their cases appealed.

I am a life long member of Bastard Nation. When I decided to petition the court for my records, I informed my friends and colleagues ahead of time. I told them that I would be petitioning for my records only. I was not going to be trying to establish any new case law. I was not on a crusade to get all records opened in Illinois. I know this sounds selfish but that's just the way it is. You can help with these larger issues by joining an adoptee rights organization such as Bastard Nation. My friends were totally supportive of my efforts and were thrilled for me when I won.

One last thing to keep in mind. If you are turned down, that does not mean it's all over. No way! You are permitted to amend your petition by presenting new or additional evidence to bolster your case. I did. Just remember that you are not APPEALING the decision. You are AMENDING YOUR PETITION and would like another hearing.

Good luck.

IN RE ROGER B.

SUMMARY OF NOTES

This is my summary of the decisions outlined in the in re RogerB. Case. [in re Roger B.., 1981, 49 Ill. Dec. 731, 84 Ill, 2^nd, 323, 418 N.E. 2d, 751, appeal dismissed 102 S.Ct. 80, 454, US 806, 70 L.Ed 2^nd 76,]

My source is West Law Annotated Illinois Revised Statutes, 1993, p. 575.

Once again – a caveat. I am not an attorney, I give no legal advice, and I have absolutely no legal experience, other than going to court myself and petitioning for my own records.

The Records, Confidential Section of in Roger B…

1. Does not violate equal protection clause.

2. Does not create a suspect classification, in that status of adoptee does not result at birth, but is derived from legal proceeding, the purpose of which is to protect the best interests of the child, and status of adoptee, conferred by the Adoption Act, actually improves the position of the child by providing a home, support, family unit, and loving care that might otherwise not be present.

3. Does not violate adoptee’s constitutional right to receive information. (U.S.C.A. Const. Amend. 1) in that information sought is product of the judicial process.

4. Does not unconstitutionally infringe upon an adoptee’s right to discover his own identity.

5. Does not violate due process.

6. Is not unreasonable and did not unconstitutionally abridge adoptee’s right to receive information.

7. - Adoptee’s interest in possible inheritance from her natural parents did not constitute good cause.

8. Does not deprive adoptee of property without due process of law since constitutional prohibition against deprivation of property could only attach when right is vested and expectation of inheritance did not constitute vested right.

9. Does not give an adoptee a fundamental right to examine his adoption records.

10. Does not violate adoptees’ rights to equal protection of the laws.

11. Does not violate adoptee’s constitutional right to privacy.

12. Does not allow for a constitutionally protected right to know one’s ancestors.

13. Does not consider adulthood of adoptee by itself “good cause.”

14. Discretion conferred by this paragraph was intended to be exercised upon a showing of good cause.

15. Mandamus was not appropriate remedy by which adoptee could compel circuit court clerk to allow her to examine sealed adoption records.

Resources:

http://www.bastards.org/mediaroom/constitutionalIssues.html

Excellent overview of Constitutional issues relating to adoptee sealed records, including Doe v Sundquist and the case law from Oregon, after Measure 58 passed.

http://law.ubalt.edu/template.cfm?page=664

University of Baltimore, School of Law

Elizabeth Samuels, Professor of Law

Many articles about adoption, including Law Review.

“Severed Roots: The Sealed Adoption Records Controversy”

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Illinois Adoptees Talk Back

2009-04-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

I just discovered your website and was reading a blog about successfully gaining access to sealed adoption files in the state of Ill. I am 47 years old and a very happy adoptee with a wonderful and supportive family. I never had an interest in searching but some years ago, at my doctor’s encouragement I began the process.

I was adopted through Catholic Charities in Chicago and started with them. Beyond the non-identifying info. they were no help and I found my interactions with them some what debasing. To have to pay and deal with a gum chomping hair-twirling college student who clearly had not the slightest interest in my plight was beyond the pale. Sadly, she did have power as she had access to the most basic of information that I was denied.

I was fortunate to hire someone privately who was able to locate my siblings within four days. Unfortunately, my birth mother had passed away many years ago at the age of 38 leaving four children behind. At this time, three of my sisters are also deceased.

What I find incredible is some one identified as my birth mother's sister sent a letter to Catholic Charities informing them of her death and the circumstances of which have a potential genetic component. They put into my file and there it sat until I finally contacted them.

I cannot tell you how angry I am at the total lack of regard for human life. Having lost my best friend to the same sudden death I was all too familiar with how serious this was. After paying them to find my birth father...they were unable...and they don't refund your $500.....They have the name for heaven's sake --are they idiots? Maybe they should stop recruiting college students to this work

I would like to find out about my bio. Father, but unfortunately only have non-identifying info. My doctor is happy to write what ever is necessary to obtain medical information. Is there away to petition the court for this info? based on medical reasons? I haven't lived in Illinois for many years and am out of touch with what has been going on .If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

If anyone has any suggestions for IL Adoptee, please write to obc@ilopen.org and we will pass them along to her.

ADOPTIVE FAMILIES AFTER THE REUNION

2009-03-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

There seem to be adoptive families who consider an open records bill to be a threat to them. An adopted adult having a copy of their OBC in their hands does not always automatically lead them to the doorstep(s) of their birth parents. It is a civil right for an adoptee to have access to their OBC. Searching is a separate issue but if it occurs and is successful, it does not mean that a close bond between the adoptee and adoptive parents is going to be severed. If a close bond has not formed, will the adoptive parents doing what they can to prevent the adoptee from searching result in a closer relationship developing? I personally doubt it.

Both my adoptive father and step-father were deceased by the time my M.D. and I discussed that knowing my origins would be beneficial to my health. When I approached my adoptive mother about the sensitive subject of searching for my birth family, she was very supportive. She offered to help me in any way that she could. My mother told me that she would like to meet my birth mother to thank her for parting with me.

It was not meant for my mother to meet my birth mother. I had a very common name to work with that resulted in my search taking over 20 years. Three years before it was completed my mother passed away. I learned that while I was searching my birth parents passed away. But I have been reunited with siblings and other birth relatives. While it has been a continuing awesome experience getting to know them have I tossed my adoptive family members aside? Definitely not and I never will! I now just have LOTS of family and some of my adoptive have met some of my birth.

There is no reason why birth and adoptive family members can't be on friendly terms. I have no way of being certain if all my parents would have been but I can't help but think positively about it.

I urge all adoptive parents to stand back and not fight adopted adults from having access to their OBC. If having it in their hand does ultimately lead them to searching and finding birth family, be supportive. I realize that I have been blessed that my reunion has gone so well. Not all of them do but often even with reunions gone sour the adoptee will still gain because they learn their identity and sometimes biological family medical history.

NO BIRTH MOTHER PRIVACY

2009-02-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

IllinoisOpen Organization Says:

There’s no such thing as lifelong birthmother privacy.

Illinois adoption records were sealed to protect children of adoption and their adoptive families. they were not sealed to maintain a life-time birth mother privacy plan.

Illinois adoption laws were formulated in order to find homes for children who need them. Every time a child is placed into a loving adoptive home, we know that our adoption policies are working. The judge creates a new identity for the child which is based on the child’s legal standing rather than on his or her birth. That is the Illinois law.

The Illinois sealed records law, passed in 1946 and tightened in 1981, was enacted to protect adopted children and their newly created adoptive family. The legislators of yore wrote the law because they believed that no interruptions or obstructions should interfere with the new adoptive families. The birth records were sealed so that birth mothers could not come back at any time and try to find out the new identity of their biological offspring.

Birth mothers signed irrevocable relinquishment documents after their children were born, severing all legal ties to their biological offspring.

At the time of the actual adoption, when the judge signs the Adoption Decree, he/she issues an order to impound all of the adoption documents. The judge further orders that the original birth certificate be sealed and orders an amended birth certificate is made to reflect the child’s legal ties to his or her newly created adoptive family.

Interestingly, children who were irrevocably surrendered by their birth parents but for any reason were never adopted do not have sealed birth records. All surrendered but not adopted children keep their original birth certificates. Foster children keep their original birth certificates. Only adoptees loose theirs.

If it were the State’s intent to give birth mothers' promises of life time confidentiality, the time to have done it would have been at the time of the relinquishment. But that doesn’t happen. The records are not sealed at the time of the child’s birth or at the time the birth mother signs the relinquishment papers.

Adoption records and the original birth certificate are only sealed when the child begins a new life with the adoptive family. It could be two weeks, 3 months, even a year later. Then and only then are the child’s records impounded and sealed permanently.

Adoption records were sealed to protect adoptive families. They were not sealed in an effort to maintain a life-time birth mother privacy plan. To this day, no contract or promise or agreement made between the state and any birth mother has ever surfaced. Not even one piece of paper!

But every time an unconditional access bill is filed, the lawmakers haul out the same old excuses as reasons to add restrictive disclosure or contact vetoes to their bills. This is what we always get from Springfield. “We can’t unseal the adoptee’s records because we promised birth mothers privacy from their own children. We promised them anonymity. We owe it to them.”

No, honorable legislators, you don’t owe them anything. Birth mothers were NOT offered a lifetime right to stop their adopted “child” from receiving his or her original birth certificate. Never!

Forget lifelong birthmother privacy. It doesn’t exist in Illinois law.

Illinois is ready for change.

The best way to start changing the old paradigm is to look at the other states which have unsealed original birth records to adopted adults. Kansas and Alaska never sealed their records. The Oregon electorate voted to unseal adoptee’s original birth certificates. Alabama, New Hampshire, and Maine all have new laws that unconditionally release original birth certificates to adopted adults upon request. And you know what? The adoption process in all these states hasn’t changed a bit. It’s “ho-hum” business as usual.

Using these states as models, our legislators should pass a similar bill. Delete the old fashioned sealed records law and replace it with an equal access law for adopted adults. This law should allow adopted men and women to be able to request and receive their original birth certificates unconditionally and without any falsifications.

Now how hard is that?

"Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered." – Aristotle

WANTED: Those touched by an Illinois adoption

2009-02-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

The silent people do need to come forth for Illinois to become an open records state. We know how busy people can become but please take the time to speak out. It is the adoptee who had a civil right stolen and it needs to be restored so all adult adoptees have access to their original birth certificate. But it is important for birth parents, adoptive parents, genealogists and other interested parties to speak out. The State Registry and the Confidential Intermediary system are ineffective and are not a substitution. Everyone is needed - please do not sit back and think that others are taking care of things. See www.ilopen.org

An Illinois Adoptee Goes to Court

2009-01-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

AN ILLINOIS ADOPTEE GOES TO COURT

By Anita Walker Field

Several years ago in Georgia, a clear open records bill was being considered in the Senate after having passed the House. A Georgia Senator, opposed to the bill, rose to advise his fellow senators that adoptees didn't need another way to get their birth certificates. "All they have to do is go to court." And so the Georgia Senate voted down the good bill.

THE BATTLE FOR MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE

My campaign to get my original birth certificate began in Chicago on a sunny but brisk October morning in 1998. My destination: The Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. My battle plan: To file a petition to have certified copies of my entire adoption file and my original birth certificate turned over to me.

I paid the $220 filing fee and the $40 mandatory Adoption Registry fee. As the clerk stamped each page of my petition, I could feel jolts of power surging through me. I carried my now-official petition directly up to the judge's chambers, where his clerk assigned me a court date. I did it! I was actually on the docket!

"Are you crazy? It's all a waste of time," my friends told me. "You have to be knocking at death's door before a judge will even consider unsealing your original birth records."

"I don't care." I said. "I am going to court and I will make my voice heard."

The seeds of this campaign were sown back in July, 1993. That's when the Federal Government turned down my application for a passport because the only birth certificate I had, the old amended one given to me by my deceased adoptive parents, was woefully incomplete.

Catch 22! I needed a certain document to satisfy the federal government – the very same document that the Illinois state government has sealed in perpetuity. Illinois adoption law mandates that everything pertaining to an adoption be permanently impounded and sealed forever from the very person the process was created to serve – the adoptee.

I telephoned all of my elected representatives. I dragged from one government office to the next, trying to get someone – anyone – to help. Finally, as a result of the "behind the scene" efforts of a US Representative, the state came up with a plan. The state would create a new "Amended Birth Certificate" for me that said I was born in Chicago.

An Amended Birth Certificate is a mish-mosh of information which mixes together and blends facts about birth parents and adoptive parents. The finished product presumes that the adoptee is the biological child of her adoptive parents. This fiction was truly an insult to my intelligence, but I desperately needed the passport and so I readily accepted it. This wonderful new creation satisfied the feds; I received my passport just three days before my plane took off.

As the state had impounded my adoption records, so had I impounded my adoption feelings. I had thrown all of my questions about my origins and all of my yearnings to know the truth about myself way back into the darkest corner of the family closet. You know the one; it's where the skeletons live.

Home from London, I knew that I didn't want to pretend any longer. My shame had turned into red hot anger. I was "fighting mad" at a government that treated its adopted citizens differently from everyone else. I raced out of that closet and into the real world. For the next few years, I tried everything I could think of to find out my birth story.

My wonderful husband, Bob, is the one who steered me to the offices of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. We had heard that published adoption notices were required by law until the 1960s. Bob knew that if a notice existed, it would be in this newspaper. And he was right.

It took us a few hours pouring through the old microfilm, but we finally found it – my Adoption Notice, published approximately 3 weeks prior to the finalization of my adoption. Now I had a name – Baby Girl Walker. And my birth parents had names: "Mrs. Margaret M. Walker" and "Mr. first name unknown last name Walker." So much for birth parent confidentiality.

Soon I was gathering together the bits and pieces of information that I found both on my new amended birth certificate and the meager non-identifying information I had requested from the state. I signed up with every adoption registry I could find, starting with the IL State Adoption Registry and the International Search and Reunion Registry (ISRR).

And of course, I looked for Margaret M. Walkers everywhere. But I was looking for a needle in a haystack. I was reaching for a shadow

In 1995, I signed up with the Illinois Confidential program. I had to pay $500 up front to Midwest Adoption Agency, my court-appointed intermediary, and a $220 filing fee to Cook County. After two years, they dismissed my case as unsuccessful. The CI had been unable to locate any person, living or dead, to match up with any of the information in my adoption file.

I was devastated. I was desperate. But I was not defeated.

Next I turned my case over to a professional adoption searcher. I selected one that was extremely well known throughout the adoption community. I contracted to pay her $2900 upon location of a birth relative. Six months later, the professional searcher dissolved our contract. Her search had been unsuccessful too.

The Illinois' Adoption Act allows the Court to order the unsealing of adoption records to the adoptee if good cause is shown. And so I made my decision. I would do battle directly with the state.

From that beautiful autumn morning in 1998 when I first marched into the courthouse, until a few weeks before Christmas, I labored on almost nothing else but my legal brief. I'm not a lawyer and I didn't hire one. This was my personal struggle; one in which the only battle cry would be mine. My husband and daughter were at my side every step of the way, always there to guide and support me. But I went into combat alone.

When I took my filed petition upstairs to the judge's office, I was able to meet briefly with him and his law clerk. He asked why I wasn't just asking for my original birth certificate. I told him that I was only going through this procedure once and so I wanted it ALL.

Because I was doing this pro se, the judge directed me in the steps I needed to take to bring my petition to life, while always refraining from giving me any legal advice, which he is not allowed to do. He informed me that I would have to serve notice on both the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Cook County State's Attorney's office. The former keeps the original birth certificates; the latter over sees the Division of Vital records which maintains all adoption files.

After having served notice to both offices, attorneys were assigned by both of them to "represent" the state and the county's interests in my case.

At my first court appearance, both the judge and I received a "Memorandum in Opposition to Petition for Opening an Adoption File" written by the assistant state's attorney for Cook County who had been assigned by the Civil Division of the state's attorney's office to take my case. The Memorandum was actually a list of twenty reasons why the court should deny my request. Some were truly outrageous. For example, reason number 12 said that "The petitioner has not produced consent of either biological parent." However, the primary reason given was that I had not asserted good cause which would entitle me to access my records.

Both the judge and the assistant state's attorney explained to me that I had a right to file an amended petition at any time and enter any additional information I chose to submit. They assured me that I would not have to pay another filing fee nor start the entire process over from the beginning.

"Your Honor," I said. "I respectfully request a continuance in order to prepare an amended petition."

"Granted," smiled the judge with a bang of his gavel. "See my clerk and set up a new court date."

And so I went home to prepare an amended petition. I began by analyzing every single "reason" on that Memorandum of Opposition, which had been based upon a 1981 Illinois Appellate landmark decision, Roger B .[in re RogerB. 84 Ill.2^nd 323, 418 N.E. 2d 751 (1981)

I first dismissed the ridiculous reasons, and then marched downtown to the State law library to collect ammunition to refute the others.

I discovered that in Roger B, the adoptee testified that his search was not based on any psychiatric or psychological medical need. Rather, it arose from the plaintiff's desire to discover his natural identity.

Therefore, I decided to use this distinction as a basis for my petition. I did have a psychological medical need. One of the proofs I presented was that in my original petition to the Court for a Confidential Intermediary, (in which I had to show cause,) the Court determined that such a condition existed, and that disclosure was authorized to facilitate treatment. [Note: The CI law has been changed since then. The adoptee no longer has to show cause.]

My arsenal now included favorable case law citations, statements concerning my unsuccessful search attempts in the past, and affidavits from the doctors and psychologists who had been helping me deal with my adoption issues throughout this entire emotional time in my life.

On December 2, 1998, I again stood before the judge.

"Your Honor," I began. "I'm here today to ask the Court to order the release of copies of my complete adoption file and my original birth certificate. I have built my case upon a 1977 Illinois court ruling which said that good cause for unsealing adoption records exists when there is a real and immediate need by the adoptee and no threat of substantial harm to the parents." [In re Doe, No 76 Co 2436 (Cook County) Ill, Cir. Ct., and Nov., 22, 1977]

"Go right ahead. I have read your amended petition," the judge reassured me. "Take all the time you need."

I started out by asking the judge to please consider the unique issues of my case within the framework of a very recent landmark 1997 appellate court decision, Doe v Sundquist.

"Do you have a copy of that case?" the judge asked me.

"Yes Your Honor," I replied as I hurriedly dug into my briefcase.

"Never mind. We will take a 15 minute recess while I read the case on my computer," the judge told us. And with that, he hurried out of the courtroom.

When the judge returned, he had read the case and agreed to consider my case within the broad framework of Doe v. Sundquist. He cautioned me that while Doe v Sundquist does not tell a judge that unsealing adoption records is the right thing to do, the appellate court decision did find "that the interest of an adoptee to know who his birthparents were is an interest entitled to a good deal of respect and sympathy."

And then it was my turn. I presented the case law I was basing my particular case upon and then I presented proofs to support every single aspect of the 1977 case as it would refer to me.

After I finished, the judge inquired, "Does the state's attorney wish to enter any objections?"

I held my breath. "No, Your Honor," replied the assistant state's attorney, the same person who had written the 20 point Memorandum of Opposition. "We ask the court to decide the matter on the merits of Ms. Field's position. The attorney general's office joins me in this position."

Whew! I had gotten past them this time.

"Very well. The Court continues this case to December 6, 1998, when it will render its decision. Court is adjourned."

My husband and daughter and I went home to wait. Only one more week to go. It was four and a half years since my fight with the passport office.

On that appointed morning, at the stroke of 10:00a.m., the judge whisked into the hot courtroom, carrying court papers in one hand and holding onto the folds of his robes with the other. The court reporter was already in place. The attorneys were sitting at a side table. The judge's law clerks and the secretary from his office had quietly entered the courtroom and were leaning against the side door, waiting. And huddled together on the wooden bench in the first row of the silent courtroom, holding hands, were my husband, my daughter, and me.

The bailiff called the court to order and the judge began to read into the record his two and half page written decision, spelling out the major issues as he viewed them.

"It is readily apparent that 'good cause' is not a static, limited concept, but a broad one, that must be determined on a case by case basis, depending in large measure upon the unique facts presented to the Court. The circumstances presented by the petition in question in this matter are clearly significantly different from those presented in Roger B.

"Therefore, following its evaluation of all of the facts and circumstances presented by the Amended Petition, and balancing the interests of the State and members of the adoption triad, the Court has determined that good cause has been established for the release of the documents and records in question, and their release is so ordered."

I WON!

This was the proudest day of my life!

I hope that some day all adopted adults in the United States will regain their civil right to unconditionally access their birth records in the same way as all other citizens. I pray that adult adoptees will no longer have to take to the battlefield in order to get what is rightly theirs.

PLEASE NOTE:

The two and a half page written court decision, as well as the court order itself, are stamped in large red letters – IMPOUNDED. The judge cautioned me that I must remember the meaning of IMPOUNDED in relation to the records in my case. Out of respect to the late Circuit Court Judge Stephen Yates, I intend to keep my promise to him regarding the IMPOUNDED order. So I have attempted to summarize and explain the judge's decisions but I have not published his actual decision.

This goes against all I work for – taking the secrecy out of adoption. However, the late Judge Yates was an honorable man. He was enormously helpful and incredibly kind to me throughout the entire process, and I intend to keep my promise to him.

About Illinois Open

2009-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

Illinois Open is an informational organization. Its goals are to educate the public about sealed records as well as locate grassroots supporters of equal access to the original birth certificate for all adopted men and women in Illinois. United by our belief, our mission challenges IL legislators to restore the civil right to all adult adoptees.

We invite all IL born and adopted men and women to join us. Genealogists who have found an adoptee on their family tree and other interested parties are welcome to help, with the IL adoption reform movement.

Please see Illinois Open!