Associated Press
PEKIN, ILL. -- A bisexual woman regained custody of her two childrenTuesday in what an attorney said was the first time an Illinois appeals courthad sided with such a parent in such a case.
The 3rd District Illinois Appellate Court, based in Ottawa, unanimouslyfound that the preteen children are not being harmed by living with theirmother and her female lover.
"In this case, the evidence established that the children were thriving intheir mother's care," Justice Peg Breslin wrote.
The ruling should send a "powerful message" that parents should not fearlosing custody just because they are gay or bisexual, said Patricia Logue,managing attorney with the gay-rights group Lambda Legal Defense andEducation Fund. She helped represent the mother.
The father, Stuart Schroeder of Morton, plans to appeal to the IllinoisSupreme Court, said his attorney, William Anderson IV.
Rebecca Schroeder first won custody of her children in 1991 when theseven-year marriage ended. Two years later, she moved in with another womanand the father remarried. He then filed for custody.
A Tazewell County judge granted custody to the father in January. Hisruling focused on teasing that he believed the children might face.
Other children may tease or shun the two, the appeals court acknowledged,but that might happen regardless of which parent they live with.
Illinois custody laws treat homosexual and heterosexual parents the samein custody matters, the appeals court said. And since the father presented"absolutely no evidence" that the children's moral well-being is suffering,the court said it must rule in the mother's favor.
Article from The Chicago Sun-Times, December 18, 1996, Tel.(312) 321-3000, Fax (312) 321-2120,email: letters@suntimes.com.
By Terry Wilson, Tribune Staff Writer
In the first ruling of its kind in Illinois, a state appeals court hasupheld the custody rights of a woman in a lesbian relationship, attorneyssaid Tuesday.
The ruling, issued Monday by the court in Ottawa, reversed a TazewellCounty Circuit Court judge's ruling that gave custody of the children totheir father because the children faced "the possibility of socialcondemnation" because of their mother's lesbian relationship, attorneys said.
"The reality of life for gay and lesbian parents is their ex-spouses arealways threatening to play the gay card in court," said Patricia Logue, chiefcounsel for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund of Chicago, who arguedthe case.
"The Appellate Court has said there is no double-standard. They are goingto look at whether the kids are doing well, but they are not going to look atwhether the parents are straight or gay."
The ruling, delivered by Presiding Justice Peg Breslin, came in athree-year court battle over two children who are under age 10.
Stuart and Becky Schroeder divorced in 1991 and agreed that BeckySchroeder should retain custody of the children, according to the ruling.
Stuart Schroeder remarried in 1993 and filed for custody when he learnedthat his ex-wife was living with a female lover, Logue said.
In January, Judge Brian Nemenoff ordered a change of custody, despitetestimony from the parents and teachers that indicated the children weredoing well in school and elsewhere.
Nemenoff stayed his ruling when attorneys announced their intent toappeal, so the children were able to remain with their mother.
Attorneys argued before the appeals court Oct. 3.
"We recognize that co-habitation with a member of the same sex differsfrom co-habitation with a member of the opposite sex," Breslin's 14-pageruling said. "However, Illinois' approach to child-custody determinations issexual-orientation neutral. . . . In this case, the evidence established thatthe children were thriving in their mother's care."
The ruling further stated that it reversed Nemenoff's ruling because thestate marriage and divorce laws require great emphasis be placed onmaintaining stability and continuity in custody arrangements.
"She said she was ecstatic," Logue said of Becky Schroeder, who resides ina Peoria suburb. "She was very shaky at the thought of losing her kids. Sheknows she's a good mother, and the court vindicated her."
Article from The Chicago Tribune, December 18, 1996,435 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60611, Fax 312-222-2598, email: tribletter@aol.com.
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