Residents of Illinois who were adopted can now have access to documents about their family history. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill Friday allowing people who were adopted to access their birth certificates. Previously, birth certificates were sealed to keep the parents anonymous. State Representative Sarah Feigenholtz, who was adopted, sponsored the bill.
Birth parents who don't want to be found will have one and a half years to get their names blacked out on their children's birth certificates. But backers expect four out of five birth parents will opt to let their children find them.
Birth parents who don't want to be found will have one and a half years to get their names blacked out on their children's birth certificates. But backers expect four out of five birth parents will opt to let their children find them.
Effective immediately, children and parents involved in adoptions that took place before 1946 can get birth certificates. For later cases, Feigenholtz and other state officials will spend the next one and a half years notifying birth parents and adoptive children that they need to contact the state and declare whether or not they wish to be found. Notices will go out on Illinois' residents' vehicle renewal stickers and other state documents. After Nov. 15, 2011, people involved in adoption can request birth certificates, and if the other parties involved have filed no objections, the birth certificates will be turned over.
If a birth parent says no, an adoptive child can ask again in five years and the state will check to see whether the parent has changed her or his mind.
