After having been passed unanimously by the Illinois House and Senate, the Termination of Parental Rights of Perpetrators of Sexual Assault Act is now law in Illinois. The new law, which takes effect on January 1, 2014, “[p]rovides that a person is not entitled to custody of or visitation with a child without the consent of the child’s mother or guardian if the person is found by clear and convincing evidence to have committed an act of non-consensual sexual penetration for his conduct in fathering that child and provides that the child’s mother or guardian may decline support and maintenance obligations from such a father.”

After all these months of failure to deal with pension reform, it’s nice to know that my state government can actually do something right.