In the landmark 2002 decision Wickham v. Byrne, the state supreme court struck down Illinois' grandparent visitation statute, holding that the right of a fit parent to make decisions about his or her children can't be compromised unless a child's health, safety, or welfare is at risk. Effective January 1, 2005, the General Assembly amended the statute in response to Wickham.

But in the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter, Morris Lane Harvey questions whether the statute really cured the infirmities identified in Wickham. And he goes further, arguing that Wickham "raises...a serious question as to whether any grandparent visitation statute can ever pass substantive due process muster in the face of what appears to be the constitutionally conclusive presumption that a fit parent has a fundamental right to control, inter alia, access by others to his child." Read his provocative argument.