Illinois adoptees born before January 1, 1946 may now get copies of their original unaltered birth certificates. Those born after that date must wait until November 15, 2011. The following excerpts are from an interesting article about the first person to get access – just a couple days ago. The article, at the Examiner website, is dated August 9, and I just happened to miss it.
(Chicago, IL) – Governor Pat Quinn today presented a 73-year-old Illinois adoptee with the first non-certified copy of an original birth certificate made possible under a new law which Quinn signed in late May.
“When I was born in 1937, adoptees’ birth records were never sealed,” said Joel Chrastka of Berwyn. “But, by the time I was an adult and had learned about my adoption, my original birth certificate had already been retroactively sealed for 100 years.”
“I feel like today is a part of history,” Quinn said. “And a very special part of history. This new law is making a difference for families everywhere.”
Quinn presented the birth record to Chrastka at his Chicago office in a private ceremony.
Sponsored by State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), an adult adoptee, and State Senator A.J. Wilhelmi (D-Crest Hill), the legislation, House Bill 5428, won widespread, bipartisan support in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly. The new law makes Illinois the seventh—and most populous—state in the U.S. to reverse mid-20th century laws mandating the automatic sealing of adoptees’ original birth certificates.
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According to Feigenholtz, adopted persons born in Illinois prior to January 1, 1946, may now obtain an unaltered, non-certified copy of their original birth certificate by sending a special request form to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange accompanied by a $15 fee.
Feigenholtz and other adopted adults over the age of 21, who were born in Illinois after January 1, 1946, will have to wait until November 15, 2011 to begin requesting copies of their original birth certificates.
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Full details on the new law as well as the applicable forms can be found on Feigenholtz’s Web site as well on the Illinois Dept. of Public Health Web site.
