Quinn Signs Franks' "Caylee's Law"

Governor Pat Quinn Friday signed a bill introduced by McHenry County State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) that requires parents to report the disappearance of a child within 24 hours. The bill has been dubbed "Caylee's Law" after Caylee Anthony, the daughter of Casey Anthony, whose disappearance was not reported by her mother for 31 days. Anthony was suspected of her murder in a high-profile trial before she was eentually found not guilty.

"The tragic events surrounding two year-old Caylee Anthony's death captivated the nation and pointed out a gaping hole in our child negligence statutes," said Franks. This legislation will bring justice to those most vulnerable and accountability to parents and guardians that neglect to report their child missing."

The law requires parents or guardians to report a missing or deceased child under the age of thirteen to local authorities within 24 hours. Children two and younger must be reported within one hour. Failure to do so is now a felony in Illinois. "Unfortunately, it appears we need a criminal law to require it," Franks said during the bill's debate.

In an unrelated development Friday,  Florida authorities announced mother Casey Anthony had completed probation for check fraud and was free to leave the state where she's been unseen since her acquittal last year on charges of murdering her daughter.

In the pic:  Two year-old Caylee Anthony found dead in Florida four years ago.