Full Text of HR0989 94th General Assembly
HR0989enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION 989
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| WHEREAS, There are too many children who have suffered | 3 |
| because their parents have not met their child support | 4 |
| obligations; and
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| WHEREAS, To facilitate the delivery of child support to | 6 |
| children in significant need, the General Assembly passed the | 7 |
| Expedited Child Support Act of 1990; and
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| WHEREAS, The Supreme Court of Illinois on April 1, 1992, | 9 |
| adopted rules designated "Implementation of the Expedited | 10 |
| Child Support System" pursuant to the Expedited Child Support | 11 |
| Act of 1990, and the Court amended those Rules effective April | 12 |
| 15, 1997; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2002, 86% of custodial parents throughout the | 14 |
| United States who were due child support under a court order | 15 |
| did not receive all of the child support that was due; and
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| WHEREAS, The General Assembly has received numerous | 17 |
| constituent concerns about delays, dilatory tactics, | 18 |
| continuances in child support cases and, in their view, the | 19 |
| infrequent exercise of the court's authority to find | 20 |
| non-custodial parents with unpaid support obligations in | 21 |
| contempt or to impose jail time as a means of enforcement of | 22 |
| child support orders; and | 23 |
| WHEREAS, Research shows that the receipt of child support | 24 |
| has positive effects on children's cognitive and behavioral | 25 |
| performance, regardless of the family's income or other | 26 |
| socioeconomic characteristics; and | 27 |
| WHEREAS, Many poor families rely on child support for over | 28 |
| 25% of their income and thus children in families with low | 29 |
| incomes may especially benefit from the protective effects that |
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| child support can have against poverty; and
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| WHEREAS, Child support benefits all types of families, and | 3 |
| the receipt of child support is positively related to child | 4 |
| outcomes such as educational attainment, school behavior, and | 5 |
| access to health care and nutrition; and
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| WHEREAS, Research shows that when a parent pays child | 7 |
| support, the child has fewer behavior problems, makes better | 8 |
| grades, and stays in school longer than do children who are the | 9 |
| victims of non-support; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Payment of child support by a noncustodial parent | 11 |
| is positively related to contact with the child, a sense of | 12 |
| involvement in the child's upbringing, and a positive | 13 |
| relationship with the resident parent; and
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| WHEREAS, The Supreme Court of Illinois recognized the | 15 |
| importance of prompt decisions in child support proceedings and | 16 |
| included specific deadlines in the rules that implemented the | 17 |
| expedited child support system; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 20 |
| we respectfully urge the Supreme Court of Illinois to consider | 21 |
| in child support cases the scheduling of cases, treatment of | 22 |
| litigants, and nature of orders entered during proceedings to | 23 |
| establish or modify child support or to determine child support | 24 |
| arrearages and the means by which the noncustodial parent, the | 25 |
| obligor, will pay the arrearages; this consideration could | 26 |
| include the effects that court orders have on children who have | 27 |
| not had the benefit of the full amount of child support; | 28 |
| requests by the obligor or the obligor's counsel to continue | 29 |
| the proceedings to another time; delays that occur due to acts | 30 |
| or omissions of the obligor or obligor's counsel; or pleas from | 31 |
| the obligor or the obligor's counsel that the court not find |
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| the obligor in contempt or impose any jail term for any failure | 2 |
| by the obligor to pay child support; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That we respectfully urge the Supreme Court of | 4 |
| Illinois and the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts | 5 |
| to consider an assessment of child support proceedings, | 6 |
| including a review of: | 7 |
| (a) the length of time that a child support case takes from | 8 |
| the initial pleading to the date of the court's determination | 9 |
| of that issue; | 10 |
| (b) the means by which the circuit courts and circuit court | 11 |
| clerks process and schedule child support cases; | 12 |
| (c) the innovative means utilized by some circuit courts to | 13 |
| avoid delays in child support cases, including expedited | 14 |
| scheduling; | 15 |
| (d) possible modifications or additions to the Supreme | 16 |
| Court Rules concerning child support that might address this | 17 |
| issue; and | 18 |
| (e) possible enhancements to educational programs | 19 |
| concerning child support cases provided
by the Administrative | 20 |
| Office of the Illinois Courts;
and be it further | 21 |
| RESOLVED, That the Supreme Court and the Administrative | 22 |
| Office of the Illinois Courts be furnished with suitable copies | 23 |
| of this resolution.
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