Economic Advocacy (and More) Resources for Community Activists

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Chicago Appleseed has created a hub of information for activists, legislators, researchers, journalists, and members of the public as they navigate the opaque court systems of Cook County and Illinois. With this collaborative effort, our goal is to support community empowerment through equitable accessibility and bring transparency to legal and civil rights issues. Visit our Community Resource Hub here.

Child Support Resources for Advocates

In the conversations about cycles of poverty created by court fines, fees, and enforcement schemes, it is important to also include the role of child support enforcement mechanisms. It is a necessary component to bring into the conversation around debt reform, but organizers and advocates do not always have access to the in-depth knowledge necessary to drive these initiatives. To that end, Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have created a series of resources for individuals and organizations to learn more about child support adjudication and enforcement mechanisms in Illinois.

Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers are involved in a number of economic justice coalitions and initiatives and hope these facts sheets will help advocates include child support in the conversation.

We are active in various coalitions working to end the practice of drivers’ license suspension for fines, fees, and other non-moving, non-safety violations. Drivers’ license suspension is used to force payment of administrative fees, child support debt, and other enforcement costs. One study has shown 42% of people lose their jobs and face unemployment following license suspension; where additional research shows that having access to a car—and a license to drive it—makes a person more employable and more likely to leave welfare programs. Similarly, our work around court costs is part of a growing need to end courts’ fine and fee structures and enforcement mechanisms that disproportionately impact low-income communities—many with primarily Black and/or immigrant populations—to create cycles of poverty. Monetary sanctions fund the justice system on the backs of our poorest citizens.

Chicago Appleseed has long been concerned with equity in child support courts, hearing rooms, and enforcement/collection mechanisms. According to the Urban Institute, 70% of parents who owe unpaid child support earn less than $10,000 in a year. In 2018, the Census Bureau estimated that cycles of poverty created by child support enforcement policies left 300,000 people destitute. Nonpayment of child support is often the result of economic hardship, not a refusal to pay.

Child support debt and enforcement mechanisms which exacerbate family poverty or divert available support from children are a perennial concern to advocates for economic justice. But these issues—which involve the intersection of federal law, state law, and both circuit court and administrative procedures—are complex and often outside the expertise of people working more broadly on economic justice issues.

With assistance from Chicago Appleseed board member and pro bono lawyer, Kwame Raoul, and PILI Fellow Jason Jarvis, we have developed some resources for understanding child support adjudication, child support enforcement, and child support debt relief (the Clean Slate Program) in Illinois:

We look forward to our continued work with advocates to provide the community and fellow activists the resources that define the contours of problems in our courts and suggest avenues of advocacy.

Visit our Community Resource Hub for information about legislation, voting for judges, Chicago Police accountability, and more: www.ChicagoAppleseed.org/Community-Resources.