The Domestic Relations Hearing Officer Program is Helping Families

The good reputation of the hearing officer program in domestic relations is growing with its reach in the branch courts. In the branch courts, hearing officers are completing—on average—four divorces a day and hearing over 30 cases (divorce, parentage, IV-D and non-IV-D, parenting time and support i...
April 26, 2018

Next Steps for Domestic Relations

Over the last five years, Chicago Appleseed has been working closely with Grace Dickler, the Presiding Judge of the Cook County Domestic Relations Division. Together, we have collaborated to remake the domestic relations courts into a single, modern court that not only serves the needs families usin...
September 20, 2017

August is Child Support Awareness Month

Last month, Illinois adopted an “income shares” model for determining child support, joining 39 other states in considering the income of both parents in calculating the money needed to raise their child. “Income shares” for calculating child support is based upon a model developed by the Federal Of...
August 24, 2017

Changes in the Cook County Domestic Relations Courts

The Cook County court recently took bold steps to modernize the Domestic Relations Division and improve the system for all families moving through the divorce, paternity and child support process. Consolidation of the divorce court and parentage court went into effect on February 6, 2017 and is the...
June 20, 2017