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In re Marriage of Main

Case Date: 11/10/2005
Court: 2nd District Appellate
Docket No: 2-05-0748 Rel

No. 2--05--0748

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

SECOND DISTRICT



In re MARRIAGE OF
EDWARD J. MAIN,

              Petitioner-Appellant,

and


CYNTHIA I. MAIN,

              Respondent-Appellee.		)
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 		Appeal from the Circuit Court
of Du Page County. 

No. 02--D--660

 

Honorable
John W. Demling,
Judge, Presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE O'MALLEY delivered the opinion of the court:

Petitioner Edward Main timely appeals the judgment of the circuit court of Du Page Countygranting respondent Cynthia Main's petition for permanent removal of the parties' minor children toFlorida and modifying petitioner's rights of visitation with the children. On appeal, petitioner arguesthat the trial court's finding that removal is in the children's best interests was against the manifestweight of the evidence in concluding that (1) the proposed move would enhance the quality of lifefor respondent and the children; (2) petitioner's visitation would be enhanced by the move to Floridaand a reasonable visitation schedule could be devised; and (3) petitioner had not fully exercised hisrights to visitation while respondent and the children lived in Illinois. For the reasons that follow, weaffirm.

The parties married in 1989, and they divorced on May 8, 2003. Respondent appealed theportion of the trial court's divorce order requiring her to move with the parties' two minor childrenback to Illinois from Florida, where they had moved after the parties separated, and this court affirmedthe trial court's judgment in an unpublished order. In re Marriage of Main, No. 2--03--0891 (2004)(unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23). In August 2004, after petitioner filed a petitionto enforce the divorce judgment, respondent and the children moved back to Illinois. In February2005, respondent filed a petition for permanent removal of the children to Florida, and a hearing washeld on the removal petition on May 26, 2005.

Petitioner was the first witness to testify at the hearing. He testified that the drive from hishome to respondent's home in Marshall, Illinois, takes approximately 4