Petition of Kirchner

"THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE SHALL BE THE HIGHEST LAW.” Cicero 106-43 B.C.

Today, by its total failure to recognize the rights of the child who has come to be known as "Baby Richard” and the rights of adoptive parents in the circumstances of this case, the majority grants Otakar Kirchner the unfettered right to remove Richard, almost four years old, from the only home and parents he has known. This ruling is extraordinary and in contravention of Illinois law and constitutional protections: the majority permits Richard to be taken by Kirchner from his home of the past four years, and be placed in…