(750 ILCS 16/15)
Sec. 15. Failure to support.
(a) A person commits the offense of failure to support when he or she:
(1) willfully, without any lawful excuse, refuses to |
| provide for the support or maintenance of his or her spouse, with the knowledge that the spouse is in need of such support or maintenance, or, without lawful excuse, deserts or willfully refuses to provide for the support or maintenance of his or her child or children in need of support or maintenance and the person has the ability to provide the support; or | |
(2) willfully fails to pay a support obligation |
| required under a court or administrative order for support, if the obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than 6 months, or is in arrears in an amount greater than $5,000, and the person has the ability to provide the support; or | |
(3) leaves the State with the intent to evade a |
| support obligation required under a court or administrative order for support, if the obligation, regardless of when it accrued, has remained unpaid for a period longer than 6 months, or is in arrears in an amount greater than $10,000; or | |
(4) willfully fails to pay a support obligation |
| required under a court or administrative order for support, if the obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than one year, or is in arrears in an amount greater than $20,000, and the person has the ability to provide the support. | |
(a‑5) Presumption of ability to pay support. The existence of a court or administrative order of support that was not based on a default judgment and was in effect for the time period charged in the indictment or information creates a rebuttable presumption that the obligor has the ability to pay the support obligation for that time period.
(b) Sentence. A person convicted of a first offense under subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of an offense under subdivision (a)(3) or (a)(4) or a second or subsequent offense under subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
(c) Expungement. A person convicted of a first offense under subdivision (a)(1) or (a)(2) who is eligible for the Earnfare program, shall, in lieu of the sentence prescribed in subsection (b), be referred to the Earnfare program. Upon certification of completion of the Earnfare program, the conviction shall be expunged. If the person fails to successfully complete the Earnfare program, he or she shall be sentenced in accordance with subsection (b).
(d) Fine. Sentences of imprisonment and fines for offenses committed under this Act shall be as provided under Articles 8 and 9 of Chapter V of the Unified Code of Corrections, except that the court shall order restitution of all unpaid support payments and may impose the following fines, alone, or in addition to a sentence of imprisonment under the following circumstances:
(1) from $1,000 to $5,000 if the support obligation |
| has remained unpaid for a period longer than 2 years, or is in arrears in an amount greater than $1,000 and not exceeding $10,000; | |
(2) from $5,000 to $10,000 if the support obligation |
| has remained unpaid for a period longer than 5 years, or is in arrears in an amount greater than $10,000 and not exceeding $20,000; or | |
(3) from $10,000 to $25,000 if the support |
| obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than 8 years, or is in arrears in an amount greater than $20,000. | |
(e) Restitution shall be ordered in an amount equal to the total unpaid support obligation as it existed at the time of sentencing. Any amounts paid by the obligor shall be allocated first to current support and then to restitution ordered and then to fines imposed under this Section.
(f) For purposes of this Act, the term "child" shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Section 505 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.
(Source: P.A. 91‑613, eff. 10‑1‑99; 92‑876, eff. 6‑1‑03.) |
(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.
(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. 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. 94‑90, eff. 1‑1‑06; 95‑331, eff. 8‑21‑07.) |
(750 ILCS 16/25)
Sec. 25. Payment of support to State Disbursement Unit; clerk of the court.
(a) As used in this Section, "order for support", "obligor", "obligee", and "payor" mean those terms as defined in the Income Withholding for Support Act.
(b) Each order for support entered or modified under Section 20 of this Act shall require that support payments be made to the State Disbursement Unit established under the Illinois Public Aid Code, under the following circumstances:
(1) when a party to the order is receiving child
| support enforcement services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code; or | |
(2) when no party to the order is receiving child |
| support enforcement services, but the support payments are made through income withholding. | |
(c) When no party to the order is receiving child support enforcement services, and payments are not being made through income withholding, the court shall order the obligor to make support payments to the clerk of the court.
(d) At any time, and notwithstanding the existence of an order directing payments to be made elsewhere, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services may provide notice to the obligor and, where applicable, to the obligor's payor:
(1) to make support payments to the State |
| |
(A) a party to the order for support is |
| receiving child support enforcement services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code; or | |
(B) no party to the order for support is |
| receiving child support enforcement services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code, but the support payments are made through income withholding; or | |
(2) to make support payments to the State |
| Disbursement Unit of another state upon request of another state's Title IV‑D child support enforcement agency, in accordance with the requirements of Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act and regulations promulgated under that Part D. | |
The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall provide a copy of the notice to the obligee and to the clerk of the circuit court.
(e) If a State Disbursement Unit as specified by federal law has not been created in Illinois upon the effective date of this Act, then, until the creation of a State Disbursement Unit as specified by federal law, the following provisions regarding payment and disbursement of support payments shall control and the provisions in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) shall be inoperative. Upon the creation of a State Disbursement Unit as specified by federal law, the payment and disbursement provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) shall control, and this subsection (e) shall be inoperative to the extent that it conflicts with those subsections.
(1) In cases in which an order for support is |
| entered under Section 20 of this Act, the court shall order that maintenance and support payments be made to the clerk of the court for remittance to the person or agency entitled to receive the payments. However, the court in its discretion may direct otherwise where exceptional circumstances so warrant. | |
(2) The court shall direct that support payments be |
| sent by the clerk to (i) the Department of Healthcare and Family Services if the person in whose behalf payments are made is receiving aid under Articles III, IV, or V of the Illinois Public Aid Code, or child support enforcement services under Article X of the Code, or (ii) to the local governmental unit responsible for the support of the person if he or she is a recipient under Article VI of the Code. In accordance with federal law and regulations, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services may continue to collect current maintenance payments or child support payments, or both, after those persons cease to receive public assistance and until termination of services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code. The Department shall pay the net amount collected to those persons after deducting any costs incurred in making the collection or any collection fee from the amount of any recovery made. The order shall permit the Department of Healthcare and Family Services or the local governmental unit, as the case may be, to direct that support payments be made directly to the spouse, children, or both, or to some person or agency in their behalf, upon removal of the spouse or children from the public aid rolls or upon termination of services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code; and upon such direction, the Department or the local governmental unit, as the case requires, shall give notice of such action to the court in writing or by electronic transmission. | |
(3) The clerk of the court shall establish and |
| maintain current records of all moneys received and disbursed and of delinquencies and defaults in required payments. The court, by order or rule, shall make provision for the carrying out of these duties. | |
(4) (Blank).
(5) Payments under this Section to the Department |
| of Healthcare and Family Services pursuant to the Child Support Enforcement Program established by Title IV‑D of the Social Security Act shall be paid into the Child Support Enforcement Trust Fund. All other payments under this Section to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall be deposited in the Public Assistance Recoveries Trust Fund. Disbursements from these funds shall be as provided in the Illinois Public Aid Code. Payments received by a local governmental unit shall be deposited in that unit's General Assistance Fund. | |
(6) For those cases in which child support is |
| payable to the clerk of the circuit court for transmittal to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (formerly Illinois Department of Public Aid) by order of court or upon notification by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (formerly Illinois Department of Public Aid), the clerk shall transmit all such payments, within 4 working days of receipt, to insure that funds are available for immediate distribution by the Department to the person or entity entitled thereto in accordance with standards of the Child Support Enforcement Program established under Title IV‑D of the Social Security Act. The clerk shall notify the Department of the date of receipt and amount thereof at the time of transmittal. Where the clerk has entered into an agreement of cooperation with the Department to record the terms of child support orders and payments made thereunder directly into the Department's automated data processing system, the clerk shall account for, transmit and otherwise distribute child support payments in accordance with such agreement in lieu of the requirements contained herein. | |
(Source: P.A. 94‑88, eff. 1‑1‑06; 95‑331, eff. 8‑21‑07.) |
(750 ILCS 16/30)
Sec. 30. Information to State Case Registry.
(a) In this Section:
"Order for support", "obligor", "obligee", and "business day" are defined as set forth in the Income Withholding for Support Act.
"State Case Registry" means the State Case Registry established under Section 10‑27 of the Illinois Public Aid Code.
(b) Each order for support entered or modified by the circuit court under this Act shall require that the obligor and obligee (i) file with the clerk of the circuit court the information required by this Section (and any other information required under Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act or by the federal Department of Health and Human Services) at the time of entry or modification of the order for support and (ii) file updated information with the clerk within 5 business days of any change. Failure of the obligor or obligee to file or update the required information shall be punishable as in cases of contempt. The failure shall not prevent the court from entering or modifying the order for support, however.
(c) The obligor shall file the following information: the obligor's name, date of birth, social security number, and mailing address.
If either the obligor or the obligee receives child support enforcement services from the Department of Healthcare and Family Services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code, the obligor shall also file the following information: the obligor's telephone number, driver's license number, and residential address (if different from the obligor's mailing address), and the name, address, and telephone number of the obligor's employer or employers.
(d) The obligee shall file the following information:
(1) The names of the obligee and the child or
| children covered by the order for support. | |
(2) The dates of birth of the obligee and the child |
| or children covered by the order for support. | |
(3) The social security numbers of the obligee and |
| the child or children covered by the order for support. | |
(4) The obligee's mailing address.
(e) In cases in which the obligee receives child support enforcement services from the Department of Healthcare and Family Services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code, the order for support shall (i) require that the obligee file the information required under subsection (d) with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services for inclusion in the State Case Registry, rather than file the information with the clerk, and (ii) require that the obligee include the following additional information:
(1) The obligee's telephone and driver's license |
| |
(2) The obligee's residential address, if different |
| from the obligee's mailing address. | |
(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the |
| obligee's employer or employers. | |
The order for support shall also require that the obligee update the information filed with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services within 5 business days of any change.
(f) The clerk shall provide the information filed under this Section, together with the court docket number and county in which the order for support was entered, to the State Case Registry within 5 business days after receipt of the information.
(g) In a case in which a party is receiving child support enforcement services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code, the clerk shall provide the following additional information to the State Case Registry within 5 business days after entry or modification of an order for support or request from the Department of Healthcare and Family Services:
(1) The amount of monthly or other periodic support |
| owed under the order for support and other amounts, including arrearage, interest, or late payment penalties and fees, due or overdue under the order. | |
(2) Any such amounts that have been received by the |
| clerk, and the distribution of those amounts by the clerk. | |
(h) Information filed by the obligor and obligee under this Section that is not specifically required to be included in the body of an order for support under other laws is not a public record and shall be treated as confidential and subject to disclosure only in accordance with the provisions of this Section, Section 10‑27 of the Illinois Public Aid Code, and Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act.
(Source: P.A. 95‑331, eff. 8‑21‑07.) |
(750 ILCS 16/33)
Sec. 33. Information to locate putative fathers and noncustodial parents.
(a) Upon request by a public office, employers, labor unions, and telephone companies shall provide location information concerning putative fathers and noncustodial parents for the purpose of establishing a child's paternity or establishing, enforcing, or modifying a child support obligation. The term "public office" is defined as set forth in the Income Withholding for Support Act. In this Section, "location information" means information about (i) the physical whereabouts of a putative father or noncustodial parent, (ii) the employer of the putative father or noncustodial parent, or (iii) the salary, wages, and other compensation paid and the health insurance coverage provided to the putative father or noncustodial parent by the employer of the putative father or noncustodial parent or by a labor union of which the putative father or noncustodial parent is a member. An employer, labor union, or telephone company shall respond to the request of the public office within 15 days after receiving the request. Any employer, labor union, or telephone company that willfully fails to fully respond within the 15‑day period shall be subject to a penalty of $100 for each day that the response is not provided to the public office after the 15‑day period has expired. The penalty may be collected in a civil action, which may be brought against the employer, labor union, or telephone company in favor of the public office.
(b) Upon being served with a subpoena (including an administrative subpoena as authorized by law), a utility company or cable television company must provide location information to a public office for the purpose of establishing a child's paternity or establishing, enforcing, or modifying a child support obligation.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other State or local law to the contrary, an employer, labor union, telephone company, utility company, or cable television company shall not be liable to any person for disclosure of location information under the requirements of this Section, except for willful and wanton misconduct.
(Source: P.A. 93‑116, eff. 7‑10‑03.) |