Article IX: Allocation of Parental Responsibilities | PART A. RULES OF GENERAL APPLICATION TO CHILD CUSTODY OR ALLOCATION OF
Rule Text
Whenever possible and appropriate, all child custody and allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings relating to an individual child shall be conducted by a single judge. Each judicial circuit shall adopt a rule or order providing for assignment and coordination of child custody and allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings. Assignments in child custody and allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings shall be in accordance with the circuit rule or order then in force.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
When a child is involved in a court case about custody or parenting time, the goal is to have one judge handle all of those proceedings. This helps keep things consistent and avoids confusion from having multiple judges make decisions about the same child.
Each court district in Illinois is required to have its own written policy explaining how these cases get assigned to judges. The judges and courts must follow that local policy when deciding who handles custody and parenting cases.
Summary generated April 01, 2026
Committee Notes
(Revised March 8, 2016) Special Supreme Court Committee on Child Custody Issues Rule 903 encourages the assignment of all custody and allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings concerning a child to a single judge. The rule does not mandate consolidation of child custody or allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings, because consolidation may be inadvisable in certain cases. Moreover, in some counties mandatory consolidation may be impracticable because of the arrangement of courtrooms and facilities. Rule 903 encourages the consolidation of cases by requiring that the judicial circuits adopt rules or orders concerning the assignment and coordination of child custody and allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings, and by providing that the assignment of child custody and allocation of parental responsibilities proceedings will be in accordance with those rules.
Adopted February 10, 2006, effective July 1, 2006; amended Mar. 8, 2016, eff. immediately.
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