Illinois judge OKs Baby Tamia deal

CHICAGO (AP) — A Cook County judge has approved a settlement with a Utah adoption agency involved in an interstate custody battle, banning the agency from doing business in Illinois for three years.

The battle over Baby Tamia began when her mother, Carmen McDonald, put the baby up for adoption in December but then decided she wanted the girl back. McDonald and her mother sued the agency, A Cherished Child, in January for custody of the girl, alleging it pressured McDonald into signing away her parental rights.

The custody fight continued until March when the agency declined to place the girl with prospective parents in Utah after they were arrested on drug charges. Tamia was later reunited with her mother in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Marcia Maras ordered the agreement that also included a confidential financial settlement with the family.