25 years ago, parents left their kids alone to vacation in Mexico. Their case changed state law.

While a comedic “Home Alone” sequel played in movie theaters across America, David and Sharon Schoo took a 9-day vacation in Mexico, leaving their 9- and 4-year-old daughters alone for Christmas in their St. Charles-area home.

In 1992, the situation drew international attention. And, 25 years later, it continues to resonate in legal and child welfare circles where experts disagree on the effectiveness of a state law inspired by the case that attempts to define when children are old enough to be left alone without adult supervision.

“It was a made-for-media story because of the movie,” recalled Chicago-based lawyer Diane Redleaf, referring to “Home Alone 2,” which happened to feature a cameo by Donald Trump.

However, the Schoos’ crime was not clear. Illinois law at the time defined criminal child abandonment loosely, and Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services only called it abandonment if the parents didn’t plan to come back.

Seeing a void in criminal statutes, lawmakers responded by making Illinois one of the first states with specific rules for when a child can be left alone.

Critics call it an overreaction, while its advocates maintain it guides parents and protects children from poor parental judgment.

“The facts were just so egregious,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who was a state representative at the time. “The parents were leaving the country and thought having a 9-year-old watch a 4-year-old was [OK].”

Dart co-sponsored legislation, which in 1993 changed the legal definition of child abandonment to intentionally leaving a child younger than 14 alone for 24 hours or longer.

In 1992, before most people used cellphones or the internet, the Schoos left without giving their daughters a way to reach them. They provided frozen food, cereal, and a note warning the girls not to eat too much while they remained in the family home on Nancy Lane in Kane County.

When a fire alarm went off, the girls ran to a neighbor who called authorities. Child welfare agents took the girls into custody just 2 days into the parents’ trip.

Unaware of what was happening at home, the Schoos were arrested upon their return to O’Hare International Airport a few days after Christmas. A crowd of hungry newspaper and television reporters documented the scene while onlookers shouted “Scrooge!” and other comments at the couple.

A Kane County grand jury indicted them on charges including felony abandonment, neglect, endangerment and cruelty to children. They avoided trial through a plea deal and were sentenced to 2 years’ probation.

The Schoos could have faced harsher punishment under the law Dart helped write.

The stricter law, however, also has led to unfair charges against parents who were just trying to get by, say advocates such as Redleaf, who founded Family Defense Center. Criminal statutes are extremely broad and leave a lot of discretion to the courts, Redleaf said. She called the Schoo case an extreme example that shouldn’t be the basis of laws.

“It was unfortunate because it is not a representative case,” Redleaf said, “and I felt it was a bad thing, becoming the face of the issue of parents’ rights to make decisions about their children being alone.”

Illinois is one of only a few states with criminal laws dictating a minimum age for leaving a kid home alone, according to a 2013 childwelfare.gov report. In Oregon, the minimum age is 10, and in Maryland, a child must be at least 8 to be left in a house or car.

The state’s Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act contains guidelines that are supposed to help distinguish between inappropriate parenting and actual abuse or neglect.

Redleaf called Illinois law “overbroad, vague and harmful.”

The statute gives too much discretion to people who know less than parents do about what’s good for their kids, said Redleaf, now legal director for the National Center on Housing and Child Welfare.

Though the 1993 law clearly states a child must be 14 to be left alone for a full day, it does not say how old a child must be to be left alone for a shorter period of time.

“The law we currently have is based on the Schoo case, and the examples I have written about are cases where that legislation has been used to go after people it shouldn’t have been,” said Jeffery Schwab, a staff attorney for the Liberty Justice Center, which is affiliated with conservative think tank the Illinois Policy Institute.

David and Sharon Schoo gave up parental rights in 1993, when their daughters were living with a foster family. Sharon Schoo died in April 2003, according to Kane County Coroner Rob Russell. Herbert Hill, who represented the Schoos, said he is not in touch with David, who could not be reached for comment.

A court-appointed attorney for the daughters, who would be adults today, declined to talk about the case. They also could not be reached.

The house on Nancy Lane in Campton Hills Township is listed for short sale at $230,000.

Had the Schoos lived in a less-affluent area, their story may not have drawn as much attention, Redleaf said. But their case does exemplify the line, which Dart said his bill also tried to draw, between neglect and poverty. The former is punishable; the latter may just require help.

Kane County CASA is trying to be more proactive about working with community partners to educate the public about reporting issues and help parents understand what’s OK, said executive director Gloria Kelley.

“In the last 25 years we have made great inroads at people being more the ears and eyes in their community and doing what’s right for the kids,” Kelley said.

Leaving an 8- and 10-year-old with cellphones at home to go to the grocery story doesn’t seem like neglect, but if the parent was gone for three hours during a storm, that’s closer to abandonment, Kelley said.

As a parent, Kelley said she couldn’t imagine leaving a 14-year-old alone overnight. But a single parent working several jobs might leave a teen at home thinking they’re doing the best they can with the resources they have, Kelley said.

“I think if people use common sense 99 percent of the time and follow the law they are generally going to be fine,” Parkhurst said. “The law is meant to be practical and not trip people up intentionally.”

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(The Aurora Beacon News is a publication of the Chicago Tribune.)

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