blog home archives September, 2011 - Chicago Illinois Family Law Blog

September, 2011 - Chicago Illinois Family Law Blog Archive

TriCity Family Services in Geneva, Illinois Offers Fall Divorce Workshops

By Nottage and Ward on September 30, 2011

TriCity Family Services (TCFS) is a private nonprofit human services agency located in Kane County that is committed to providing affordable, quality youth crisis intervention, counseling, prevention, and early intervention services that encourage effective family functioning and stable mental health. Understanding that the stress of divorce takes its toll on both children and parents, TCFS is offering two divorce programs this fall, according to TribLocal.com.

To help families cope during the difficult time of divorce, TCFS will be offering the “Bridges Divorce Adjustment” and “Exploring Parental Divorce and Children’s Adjustment” workshops. The “Bridges Divorce Adjustment” workshop is being offered on six Monday evenings from October 17 through November 28, excluding Halloween, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. This workshop is intended for children ages 7 through 11 who are currently dealing with issues related to the separation and/or divorce of their parents. Each week’s meeting will focus on a different theme, such as the different feelings the child has towards divorce. Children will be able to express themselves through fun activities in a comfortable and safe group environment and parents are even invited to attend one chosen meeting. The cost for this workshop is $50 for a single child or $75 for two or more from the same family.

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Civil Unions a Boost to Illinois Economy, Helping Wedding Businesses Prosper

By Nottage and Ward on September 28, 2011

The passing of Illinois’ civil union law has not only been cause for celebration for same-sex couples, but for wedding businesses as well. According to an ABC7 news report, Illinois wedding businesses are seeing substantial gains as more same-sex couples celebrate their civil unions. The civil union law has provided the catalyst for economic growth in a recession, albeit for a very specific niche.

Since the Illinois civil union law took effect on June 1, almost 1,500 civil union licenses have been issued only in Cook County. According to a Chicago Sun-Times article, 831 of those were issued within the first month of passing the civil union law. The first civil unions were celebrated by state and city officials on June 2 in Millennium Park. As same-sex couples see others celebrating their civil unions, it seems to relieve any misgivings of entering into and celebrating their own, which then encourages others.

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U.S. Census Reports Divorce Rate Trends in Marital Events of Americans: 2009

By Nottage and Ward on September 22, 2011

According to The Huffington Post, U.S. Census Bureau has released a report in which it identifies regional trends in divorce rates for men and women. Based on 2009 data from the American Community Survey, the report determines that the Northeast region of the country has the lowest divorce rates, while the South has the highest.

The South, which according to the Census Bureau includes Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma, has a rate of 10.2 divorces per 1,000 men and 11.1 per 1,000 women. According to a Census official, these high divorce rates are largely the result of higher marriage rates.

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Battle between Religious Freedoms and Gay Rights Grows Amidst Illinois Civil Union Law

By Nottage and Ward on September 19, 2011

Soon after Illinois’ Civil Unions bill was signed into law, a same-sex couple decided to enter into a civil union. When trying to find a location for the ceremony, however, they were met with a frustrating reality, according to the Chicago Tribune. The male couple wanted to hold the ceremony at a quaint bed and breakfast in central Illinois, an area convenient for family in Indiana and Kentucky, as well as their home in Mattoon. They contacted two bed and breakfasts, the Beall Mansion in Alton and Timber Creek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton, both of which told the couple that they would not host same-sex civil unions.

The Beall Mansion replied to the couple’s inquiry via email, saying that it “will just be doing traditional weddings.” The owner of Timber Creek also replied via email, saying “We will never host same-sex civil unions. We will never host same-sex weddings even if they become legal in Illinois. We believe homosexuality is wrong and unnatural based on what the Bible says about it. If that is discrimination, I guess we unfortunately discriminate.”

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Illinois Court Dismisses “Bad Mothering” Case

By Nottage and Ward on September 13, 2011

For the past two years, until the end of August, two children, raised in a $1.5 million home in Barrington Hills by their lawyer father, had been pursuing a lawsuit against their mother for “bad mothering,” seeking more than $50,000 in damages for emotional distress, according to The Chicago Tribune.

In their claim, the children included alleged offenses committed by their mother, such as telling her 7-year-old son to fasten his seat belt or she would call the police, failing to take her daughter to an auto show and requiring that her daughter leave early from homecoming. Also included in the offenses were sending birthday cards that were “inappropriate” or did not include a check or cash, or not sending birthday cards at all. The mother’s attorney cited the lawsuit as a “litany of childish complaints and ingratitude” as well as a vengeful attempt by the children’s father, whom the mother divorced in 1995, to label her as an inadequate mother.

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What are the Consequences of Failing to Pay Child Support in Illinois?

By Nottage and Ward on September 8, 2011

Thousands of parents are jailed each year in the U.S. for failing to pay child support, according to MSNBC.com. Many of these parents have willfully withheld or hid money out of spite or a feeling of injustice. Some, however, have not made the required payments due to financial instability or poverty. Across the country, all non-custodial parents who fail to make their agreed upon child support payments will be subject to the punishments set forth by the laws in their state.

Under the Illinois Non-Support Punishment Act, a person is guilty of a failure to support offense if she or he “willfully, without any lawful excuse, refuses to provide for the support or maintenance of his or her spouse, [knowing] that the spouse is in need of [it] … or, without lawful excuse, deserts or willfully refuses to provide for the support or maintenance of his or her child or children in need of [it] and the person has the ability to provide the support.”

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