IMPORTANT-PLEASE READ BEFORE USING THIS WEB SITE.

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(c) 2002 Office of the Cook County Public Guardian. All rights reserved.

AGREEMENT

YOUR USE OF THIS WEB SITE OF THE OFFICE OF THE COOK COUNTY PUBLIC GUARDIAN (THE "OFFICE OF PUBLIC GUARDIAN") AND ANY PAGES, MATERIAL, DOCUMENTS, LINKS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN (COLLECTIVELY, THIS "site") CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF AND AGREEMENT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE AND THE PRIVACY POLICY (COLLECTIVELY, THE "TERMS AND CONDITIONS"). IF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE NOT FULLY ACCEPTABLE TO YOU, YOU MAY NOT USE THIS 
SITE.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

1. NO LEGAL ADVICE PROVIDED
The purpose of this site is not to provide specific legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice. The information and material on this site are provided for informational purposes only. While a great deal of care has been taken to provide accurate and current information, the ideas, information, general principles and conclusions presented at this site may vary depending on local, state and federal laws and regulations and court cases. You and all other users are urged to consult their professional legal counsel in their state regarding the applicability of any points of law discussed in this site to any specific problem, especially in light of the fact that the law is subject to different interpretations, constantly changes, and its application can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

2. INFORMATION MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR MINORS
Although the Office of the Public Guardian provides legal representation to minors, some information or material provided in this site may be inappropriate for minors and/or detrimental to their emotional well-being. Parents, guardians and caretakers are cautioned to review the information or material before making it available to their children. The Office of the Public Guardian shall not be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused in connection with access to or use of this web site (or any sites linked to this web site) by a minor.

3. DISCLAIMER - NO WARRANT OF INFORMATION
THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, WHETHER RELATED TO THE CURRENCY, ACCURACY, QUALITY, CORRECTNESS OR OTHERWISE, WITH REGARD TO ANY INFORMATION, IMAGES, DOCUMENTS, MATERIAL OR OTHER CONTENT POSTED OR PUBLISHED ON THIS SITE. BY USING THIS WEB SITE,YOU ASSUME THE RISK THAT THE CONTENT ON THIS WEB SITE MAY BE INACCURATE, INCOMPLETE, OR OFFENSIVE. THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THIS SITE OR ITS SERVER(S) ARE FREE OF ANY VIRUSES, WORMS OR OTHER HARMFUL OR INTERFERING COMPONENTS. ANY INFORMATION, IMAGES, DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS THAT YOU FIND ON THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "WHERE IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS AND CONDITIONS, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, WITH REGARD TO THIS SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE USE OR ACCESS OF THIS SITE, THE INFORMATION, IMAGES, DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS ON THIS SITE, PRIVACY OR EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, WHETHER THIS SITE WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED, OR ERROR FREE OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED.

4. DISCLAIMER CONCERNING CONTENT AND USE OF MEDIA IMAGES
The images of persons featured on this site are images of models and are used for illustrative purposes only. The use of these images is not used as an endorsement, and none of these images of this site are actual clients that the Office of the Public Guardian represents in court. In addition, while this site contains articles about clients based on true stories, the names of the clients have been changed to protect their privacy. 

5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT WILL THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC GUARDIAN BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, DISCLOSURE OF DATA OR INFORMATION, ANY SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT ARE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THIS SITE OR THE USE OR ACCESS OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CLAIMS RELATED TO THE INFORMATION, IMAGES, DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS ON THIS SITE, THE PRIVACY POLICY OR EXPECTATIONS OF PRIVACY, ANY INACCURACIES IN OR OMISSIONS FROM THIS SITE ITS CONTENT, THE SEARCH ENGINE ON THIS SITE, ANY THIRD PARTY WEB SITES OR CONTENT THEREIN DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ACCESSED THROUGH LINKS OR THE SEARCH ENGINE IN THIS SITE, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS THEREFROM, THE UNAVAILABILITY OF THIS SITE OR ANY PORTION THEREOF OR THE ACTS, AND ERRORS AND OMISSIONS, OR YOUR USE OF ANY EQUIPMENT OR FUNCTIONS RELATED IN CONNECTION WITH THIS SITE.

6. DISCLAIMER - SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS
The Office of the Public Guardian offers a free search engine for its web site. The Office of the Public Guardian disclaims any responsibility for the content or availability of information contained in our search index.

7. DISCLAIMER - NO WARRANTY IN RELATION TO LINKS TO OTHER SITES
The Office of the Public Guardian is not responsible for links to and frames including those not maintained by the Office of the Public Guardian. The Office of the Public Guardian is not responsible for the content of the linked sites or frames. The Office of the Public Guardian does not endorse, and nothing on this site shall be considered an endorsement of, any content on such third party web sites or frames. Under no circumstances shall the Office of the Public Guardian be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused to you or any user in connection with the use or reliance on any content, material, documents, images, goods, or services available on or through such third party web sites or frames.

8. COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP, LICENSE & RESTRICTIONS ON USE
The Office of the Public Guardian or any third party licensor owns all rights, title and interest in any work, document, material, images or other content on this site. By accessing and using this site, you agree to abide by all state, federal and international copyright, trademark or other intellectual property laws. As a user you are authorized to view and use this site provided solely for your own personal, informational, non-commercial purposes, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions, the Privacy policy and any other policy contained on this site. You may not remove or obscure any copyright, trademark or other notices. Except as expressly provided above, no part of this site, including but not limited to materials retrieved therefrom, may be reproduced, downloaded, republished, copied, transmitted, or distributed in any form or by any means. In no event shall materials from this site be stored in any information storage and retrieval system without prior written permission from the Office of the Public Guardian or its licensor(s). Nothing contained herein shall be construed as conferring by implication, estoppel, or otherwise any right, title, interest or license under any copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right of the Office of the Public Guardian any of its licensors, except the right to view and use this site as expressly granted herein. You agree to access and use this site only in accordance with all applicable laws, statutes, regulations, rules or orders.

9. CHILDREN'S ON-LINE PROTECTION ACT
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act applies to the online collection of personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13). Although the Office of the Public Guardian does provide legal representation to minors, this site is not directed toward minors under the age of thirteen (13) but is intended for use by child welfare professionals, attorneys, foster parents, caseworkers and other interested parties. No information is requested from children under the age of thirteen (13), nor is any attempt made to ascertain the age of users.

10. CHANGES TO THE SITE AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The Office of the Public Guardian reserves the right to make any changes, corrections, or modifications to or amend this site, Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy or any other terms, conditions or policy in connection with this site or its use with or without notice. Please check this site on a regular basis for any changes, corrections, modifications or amendments. Continued use of this site constitutes acceptance of any changes, corrections, modifications, or amendments made to this site, the Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy or other terms, conditions or policy in connection with this site or its use. 

11. INDEMNITY
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Office of the Public Guardian, its officers, employees, representatives, and agents (the "Indemnities") from and against any loss, damages, judgment, award, cost and expense (including any reasonable attorneys, witness or other fees), and defend each Indemnities against any threatened or initiated claim, action, suit, litigation, mediation, arbitration, or proceeding arising from or in connection with (i) your use of this site, (ii) infringement of any intellectual property right by you or resulting from your use of this site, and (iii) any violation of or noncompliance of you with any of the Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy or any other terms, conditions or policy on this site and any law, statute, regulation, rule or order.

12. INJUNCTION
The Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy are of a special character, and you acknowledge that money damages alone may not compensate for any breach of the Terms and Conditions. Therefore, you expressly agree that in the event of the breach or threatened breach of any of the Terms and Conditions or the Privacy Policy, in addition to any other rights or remedies, the Office of the Public Guardian shall be entitled to preliminary and/or permanent injunctive relief (without any requirement to post bond in connection therewith) compelling specific performance of, and other compliance with, the Terms and Conditions or the Privacy Policy.

13. APPLICABLE LAW; FORUM
The Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, United States of America, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. You agree that any action at law or in equity or any dispute arising out of or relating to the Terms and Conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state or federal courts located in Cook County of the State of Illinois. By agreeing to the Terms and Conditions, you submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Cook County of the State of Illinois.

14. SEVERABILITY
The Terms and Conditions incorporate by reference any notices contained on this site and constitute the entire agreement with respect to your access to and use of this site. If any provision of the Terms and Conditions or portion thereof is unlawful, void or unenforceable, then that provision or portion thereof shall be deemed severable from the remaining provisions and shall not affect the lawfulness, validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions. 

PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy is intended to explain what the Office of the Public Guardian does with your information and what you can expect from the Office of the Public Guardian.

1. Collection and Use of Personal Information
The Office of the Public Guardian does not rent, sell, or exchange personally identifiable information abut its users. We may use aggregated information in the form of statistics or other purposes for internal use only, but that information would not include personally identifying information. The Office of the Public Guardian does not currently track IP addresses to measure the number of web site visitors and the web pages they visited but reserves the right to do so at any time in the future with or without notice to you. IP addresses are used by your computer every time you are connected to the internet. However, the Office of the Public Guardian cannot identify you based on your IP address. Furthermore, the Office of the Public Guardian does not store any information on the visitor's computer in the form of a cookie or similar file but reserves the right to do so at any time in the future, with or without notice to you. For informational purposes only "Cookies" are pieces of information that a web site transfers to your computer's hard disk for tracking purposes.

2. Security
The security of your information depends in part on the security of the computer you use to communicate with the Office of the Public Guardian and the security provided by your internet access services provider. The Office of the Public Guardian is not responsible for the security or privacy of information communicated to or from any computer or to this site. The Office of the Public Guardian is also not responsible for the security of your Internet access services provider and you should view the security and privacy policies of your internet access services provider carefully.

3. The Children's On-line Privacy Protection Act
The children's Online Privacy Protection Act applies to the online collection of personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13). Although the Office of the Public Guardian provides legal representation to minors, this web site is not directed toward minors under the age of thirteen (13) but is intended for use by child welfare professionals, attorneys, foster parents, caseworkers and other interested parties. No information is requested from children under thirteen (13), nor is any attempt made to ascertain the age of users. The Office of the Public Guardian shall not be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused in connection with access to or use of this web site (or any sites linked to this site) by a minor.

4. Change of Privacy Policy
The Office of the Public Guardian reserves the right to make any changes, corrections, or modifications to or amend the Privacy Policy with or without notice. Please check this site on a regular basis for any changes, corrections, modifications or amendments. Continued use of this site constitutes acceptance of any changes, corrections, modifications or amendments made to the Privacy Policy.

5. Privacy Practices of Other Web sites
Please be aware that the privacy practices of other web sites are not covered by this Privacy Policy, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such web sites, including those linked or framed by this site, accessed through a search engine on this site or framing or linking to this site. If you disclose or consent to the disclosure of personal information to a third party, you will be subject to that third party's privacy policies and practices. The Office of the Public Guardian is not responsible for the information practices of such third parties.