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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, There are too many children who have suffered
3 because their parents have not met their child support
4 obligations; and
 
5     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
 
8     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
 
13     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
 
16     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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1 child support can have against poverty; and
 
2     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
 
6     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
 
14     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
 
18     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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1 the obligor in contempt or impose any jail term for any failure
2 by the obligor to pay child support; and be it further
 
3     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 parent litigant concerns about
6 child support proceedings, 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 range, frequency, and appropriateness of the
11 rulings by circuit courts when an obligor appears on a rule to
12 show cause for non-payment of child support;
13     (c) the means by which the circuit courts and circuit court
14 clerks process and schedule child support cases;
15     (d) the innovative means utilized by some circuit courts to
16 avoid delays in child support cases, including expedited
17 scheduling;
18     (e) possible modifications or additions to the Supreme
19 Court Rules concerning child support that might address this
20 issue; and
21     (f) possible enhancements to educational programs
22 concerning child support cases provided by the Administrative
23 Office of the Illinois Courts; and be it further
 
24     RESOLVED, That the Supreme Court and the Administrative
25 Office of the Illinois Courts be furnished with suitable copies
26 of this resolution.