(750 ILCS 16/20)

Sec. 20. Entry of order for support; income withholding.

(a) In a case in which no court or administrative order for support is in effect against the defendant:

(1) at any time before the trial, upon motion of the State's Attorney, or of the Attorney General if the action has been instituted by his office, and upon notice to the defendant, or at the time of arraignment or as a condition of postponement of arraignment, the court may enter such temporary order for support as may seem just, providing for the support or maintenance of the spouse or child or children of the defendant, or both, pendente lite; or

(2) before trial with the consent of the defendant, or at the trial on entry of a plea of guilty, or after conviction, instead of imposing the penalty provided in this Act, or in addition thereto, the court may enter an order for support, subject to modification by the court from time to time as circumstances may require, directing the defendant to pay a certain sum for maintenance of the spouse, or for support of the child or children, or both.

(b) The court shall determine the amount of child support by using the guidelines and standards set forth in subsection (a) of Section 505 and in Section 505.2 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

If (i) the non-custodial parent was properly served with a request for discovery of financial information relating to the non-custodial parent's ability to provide child support, (ii) the non-custodial parent failed to comply with the request, despite having been ordered to do so by the court, and (iii) the non-custodial parent is not present at the hearing to determine support despite having received proper notice, then any relevant financial information concerning the non-custodial parent's ability to provide support that was obtained pursuant to subpoena and proper notice shall be admitted into evidence without the need to establish any further foundation for its admission.

(c) The court shall determine the amount of maintenance using the standards set forth in Section 504 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

(d) The court may, for violation of any order under this Section, punish the offender as for a contempt of court, but no pendente lite order shall remain in effect longer than 4 months, or after the discharge of any panel of jurors summoned for service thereafter in such court, whichever is sooner.

(d-5) If a person who is found guilty of contempt for failure to comply with an order to pay support is a person who conducts a business or who is self-employed, the court may order in addition to other penalties provided by law that the person do one or more of the following: (i) provide to the court monthly financial statements showing income and expenses from the business or the self-employment; (ii) seek employment and report periodically to the court with a diary, listing, or other memorandum of his or her employment search efforts; or (iii) report to the Department of Employment Security for job search services to find employment that will be subject to withholding of child support.

(e) Any order for support entered by the court under this Section shall be deemed to be a series of judgments against the person obligated to pay support under the judgments, each such judgment to be in the amount of each payment or installment of support and each judgment to be deemed entered as of the date the corresponding payment or installment becomes due under the terms of the support order. Each judgment shall have the full force, effect, and attributes of any other judgment of this State, including the ability to be enforced. Each judgment is subject to modification or termination only in accordance with Section 510 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Notwithstanding any other State or local law to the contrary, a lien arises by operation of law against the real and personal property of the noncustodial parent for each installment of overdue support owed by the noncustodial parent.

(f) An order for support entered under this Section shall include a provision requiring the obligor to report to the obligee and to the clerk of the court within 10 days each time the obligor obtains new employment, and each time the obligor's employment is terminated for any reason. The report shall be in writing and shall, in the case of new employment, include the name and address of the new employer.

Failure to report new employment or the termination of current employment, if coupled with nonpayment of support for a period in excess of 60 days, is indirect criminal contempt. For any obligor arrested for failure to report new employment, bond shall be set in the amount of the child support that should have been paid during the period of unreported employment.

An order for support entered under this Section shall also include a provision requiring the obligor and obligee parents to advise each other of a change in residence within 5 days of the change except when the court finds that the physical, mental, or emotional health of a party or of a minor child, or both, would be seriously endangered by disclosure of the party's address.

(g) An order for support entered or modified in a case in which a party is receiving child support enforcement services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code shall include a provision requiring the noncustodial parent to notify the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, within 7 days, of the name and address of any new employer of the noncustodial parent, whether the noncustodial parent has access to health insurance coverage through the employer or other group coverage and, if so, the policy name and number and the names of persons covered under the policy.

(h) In any subsequent action to enforce an order for support entered under this Act, upon sufficient showing that diligent effort has been made to ascertain the location of the noncustodial parent, service of process or provision of notice necessary in that action may be made at the last known address of the noncustodial parent, in any manner expressly provided by the Code of Civil Procedure or in this Act, which service shall be sufficient for purposes of due process.

(i) An order for support shall include a date on which the current support obligation terminates. The termination date shall be no earlier than the date on which the child covered by the order will attain the age of 18. However, if the child will not graduate from high school until after attaining the age of 18, then the termination date shall be no earlier than the earlier of the date on which the child's high school graduation will occur or the date on which the child will attain the age of 19. The order for support shall state that the termination date does not apply to any arrearage that may remain unpaid on that date. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the court from modifying the order or terminating the order in the event the child is otherwise emancipated.

(i-5) If there is an unpaid arrearage or delinquency (as those terms are defined in the Income Withholding for Support Act) equal to at least one month's support obligation on the termination date stated in the order for support or, if there is no termination date stated in the order, on the date the child attains the age of majority or is otherwise emancipated, the periodic amount required to be paid for current support of that child immediately prior to that date shall automatically continue to be an obligation, not as current support but as periodic payment toward satisfaction of the unpaid arrearage or delinquency. That periodic payment shall be in addition to any periodic payment previously required for satisfaction of the arrearage or delinquency. The total periodic amount to be paid toward satisfaction of the arrearage or delinquency may be enforced and collected by any method provided by law for enforcement and collection of child support, including but not limited to income withholding under the Income Withholding for Support Act. Each order for support entered or modified on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly must contain a statement notifying the parties of the requirements of this subsection. Failure to include the statement in the order for support does not affect the validity of the order or the operation of the provisions of this subsection with regard to the order. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent or affect the establishment or modification of an order for support of a minor child or the establishment or modification of an order for support of a non-minor child or educational expenses under Section 513 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

(j) A support obligation, or any portion of a support obligation, which becomes due and remains unpaid as of the end of each month, excluding the child support that was due for that month to the extent that it was not paid in that month, shall accrue simple interest as set forth in Section 12-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure. An order for support entered or modified on or after January 1, 2006 shall contain a statement that a support obligation required under the order, or any portion of a support obligation required under the order, that becomes due and remains unpaid as of the end of each month, excluding the child support that was due for that month to the extent that it was not paid in that month, shall accrue simple interest as set forth in Section 12-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Failure to include the statement in the order for support does not affect the validity of the order or the accrual of interest as provided in this Section.

(Source: P.A. 97-186, eff. 7-22-11; 97-1029, eff. 1-1-13.)