Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Illinois

My girlfriend is 18 now and wants to move out. She is out of school. First time we wanted to do it right and told them she is going to move out. They freaked out and the day she was leaving they moved a couch infront of the door. Grabbed her by the arm and threw her in her room and turned off the internet phone and tv any ways of communicating. We are going to attempt this again but this time we are not going to tell her parents. We are wondering if she can still get in trouble or can I get in trouble? We are looking for a swift answer because we are going to try and have her move out this week


Asked on 5/23/10, 8:53 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

The age of legal majority in Illinois is 18. That doesn't mean she won't encounter strong opposition. But it's not up to you. If she wants to leave she should be able to just walk out the door or hoist herself out of a window (safely) if need be in the middle of the night. If she's unwilling to do that then something else is up, and even your involvement won't necessarily do the trick, and could become a bigger problem especially if her parents treat her physically as you suggest. But if they do again this is technically not up to you; she would need to reach out to get the authorities involved, your doing so could put her in greater jeopardy.

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Answered on 5/25/10, 12:01 pm


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