Illinois House Approves Lowering 'Home Alone' Law Age To 12

ACROSS ILLINOIS — In a 111 to 1 vote, the Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would amend the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 by lowering the age at which a child can be left at home without adult supervision. According to the Illinois General Assembly, the bill would lower the age to children younger than 12, instead of children under 14. According to the Illinois General Assembly, current state law says parents can face neglect charges for leaving children under the age of 14 "without supervision for an unreasonable period without regard for the mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that minor."

The bill also amends the age at which a child could be considered "abandoned," stating, "person commits child abandonment when he or she, as a parent, guardian, or other person having physical custody or control of a child, without regard for the mental or physical health, safety or welfare of that child, knowingly leaves that child who is under the age of 12 (rather than 13) without supervision by a responsible person over the age of 14 for a period of 24 hours or more."

Republican State Rep. Joe Sosnowski of Rockford, a sponsor of the bill, said it "makes a common-sense adjustment to state law to recognize that working parents who struggle to afford child care should not live under the fear of losing their kids simply for working hard to support their family.”

Related: 1992 St. Charles Parents' 'Home Alone' Case Effects Last

An initial change to the Illinois law that set the age to 14 stems from a case that took place in December 1992, when St. Charles couple, David and Sharon Schoo left their 9-and 4-year-old girls home for nine days while they vacationed in Mexico over Christmas. Patch reported that two days into the couple's trip, a fire alarm went off, causing the kids to go to a neighbor's house, and child welfare agents took the girls into custody.

The couple got home from their vacation on Dec. 29 and were immediately arrested for leaving their kids alone for so long, however Illinois law at the time wasn't as specific as it is today, and their case sparked a change in the legislation regarding child abuse and abandonment.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, a state representative at the time, co-sponsored legislation defining child abandonment as leaving a child under 14 alone for 24 hours.

House Bill 2334 that passed Wednesday had eight co-sponsors, including four Illinois Democrats and four Illinois Republicans, according to a release on Sosnowski's website. The bill now advances to the State Senate.