Bill Text: IL HB0236 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code, the Unified Code of Corrections, and the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Provides that subject to federal approval, a person's obligation to pay child support pursuant to a court or administrative order is suspended by operation of law during any period that the person is committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice. Provides that the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice shall share relevant data and collaborate to establish programs to assist committed persons who are obligors under child support orders in cases in which child support enforcement services are provided by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Provides for inclusion of information about any child support obligation owed by the defendant and recommendations concerning the payment of that obligation in a presentence report; requires a presentence investigation and report in the case of a misdemeanor defendant who owes a child support obligation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB0236 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB0236-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB0236 Introduced , by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
305 ILCS 5/10-12.5 new
750 ILCS 5/510 from Ch. 40, par. 510
Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code, the Unified Code of Corrections, and the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Provides that subject to federal approval, a person's obligation to pay child support pursuant to a court or administrative order is suspended by operation of law during any period that the person is committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Juvenile Justice. Provides that the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice shall share relevant data and collaborate to establish programs to assist committed persons who are obligors under child support orders in cases in which child support enforcement services are provided by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Provides for inclusion of information about any child support obligation owed by the defendant and recommendations concerning the payment of that obligation in a presentence report; requires a presentence investigation and report in the case of a misdemeanor defendant who owes a child support obligation.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning public aid.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
adding Section 10-12.5 as follows:
(305 ILCS 5/10-12.5 new)
Sec. 10-12.5. Suspension of child support during a period
of incarceration.
(a) During any period of time in which an obligor is
committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections or
the Department of Juvenile Justice, subject to federal
approval, an obligation to pay child support is suspended by
operation of law, but not until 60 days after the obligee
receives notice and an opportunity to request a termination or
modification of the suspension of the support obligation in
accordance with subsection (c) of this Section. If the obligee
requests that the suspension or prohibition of the support
obligation be terminated or modified and the court terminates
or modifies the suspension of the support obligation, or if the
parties have otherwise agreed in a written agreement set forth
in a court or administrative order for support, then the child
support obligation shall not be suspended and if the obligor
wishes to obtain a modification, he or she must petition for a

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modification of support in accordance with Section 510 of the
Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. The
Department may provide, by rule, for notice to the obligee
describing the obligee's rights regarding a prospective
modification in accordance with Section 510 of the Illinois
Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.
If an obligor receives a settlement, claim, inheritance,
lottery prize award, or other lump sum or periodic income of
$500 or more a month or $5,000 or more as a one-time lump sum,
during a period in which his or her child support obligation is
suspended pursuant to this Code, the obligor shall notify the
obligee, and in IV-D cases also notify the Department, within 7
days of receiving or becoming aware that he or she is entitled
to receive this income. If the obligee wishes to obtain a
modification based on this income, he or she must petition for
a modification of support in accordance with Section 510 of the
Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.
(b) Any period of incarceration of obligor shall not be
considered a period of voluntary unemployment. In the case of
an incarcerated parent obligated to pay child support greater
than $0 whose period of incarceration is greater than one year
and whose period of incarceration begins on or after January 1,
2018, the Department shall:
(1) temporarily suspend any support obligation of the
obligor and the enforcement of any support obligation of
the obligor existing prior to the period of incarceration;

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and
(2) temporarily prohibit the accrual of any interest on
any support obligation of the obligor existing prior to the
period of incarceration during the incarceration.
The temporary suspension of the child support obligation
and of the accrual of interest on any support obligation of the
obligor existing prior to the period of incarceration shall end
and both support and accrual of interest on any pre-existing
unpaid obligation shall resume upon the first charging period
to occur after the obligor's release from incarceration. Unless
the terms of the support obligation have been otherwise
modified, the support terms shall resume at the same level as
prior to the temporary suspension.
(c) If the Department is advised or given notice of the
obligor's incarceration for a period to exceed one year
beginning after January 1, 2018, the Department, for cases
enrolled in the Child Support Enforcement Program established
by Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, or the obligor parent
or his or her representative in all other cases, shall provide
both parties with:
(1) notice of any suspension or review, adjustment, or
enforcement of a support obligation and of any prohibition
on interest accrual on such obligation that is imposed in
accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b);
and
(2) an opportunity to request that the suspension or

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prohibition be terminated or modified on the basis that the
obligor has sufficient income or resources to continue
payment of the support obligation during the obligor's
period of incarceration.
(d) The Department shall not be liable for failing to act
upon the provisions established under paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subsection (b) if the Department has not been advised of the
obligor's incarceration or if the Department has in place
proper procedures for considering an obligor's incarceration
when setting and modifying child support obligations and
follows those procedures routinely.
(e) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services and
the Department of Corrections shall share relevant data and
collaborate on the facilitation of identification of
incarcerated obligors eligible for either temporary suspension
of a child support obligation or modification of a child
support obligation and shall provide relevant information and
assistance to incarcerated obligors eligible for modification
of support.
Section 10. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 510 as follows:
(750 ILCS 5/510) (from Ch. 40, par. 510)
(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 99-764)
Sec. 510. Modification and termination of provisions for

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maintenance, support, educational expenses, and property
disposition.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of
Section 502 and in subsection (b), clause (3) of Section 505.2,
the provisions of any judgment respecting maintenance or
support may be modified only as to installments accruing
subsequent to due notice by the moving party of the filing of
the motion for modification. An order for child support may be
modified as follows:
(1) upon a showing of a substantial change in
circumstances; and
(2) without the necessity of showing a substantial
change in circumstances, as follows:
(A) upon a showing of an inconsistency of at least
20%, but no less than $10 per month, between the amount
of the existing order and the amount of child support
that results from application of the guidelines
specified in Section 505 of this Act unless the
inconsistency is due to the fact that the amount of the
existing order resulted from a deviation from the
guideline amount and there has not been a change in the
circumstances that resulted in that deviation; or
(B) upon a showing of a need to provide for the
health care needs of the child under the order through
health insurance or other means. In no event shall the
eligibility for or receipt of medical assistance be

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considered to meet the need to provide for the child's
health care needs.
The provisions of subparagraph (a)(2)(A) shall apply only
in cases in which a party is receiving child support
enforcement services from the Department of Healthcare and
Family Services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid
Code, and only when at least 36 months have elapsed since the
order for child support was entered or last modified.
(a-5) An order for maintenance may be modified or
terminated only upon a showing of a substantial change in
circumstances. In all such proceedings, as well as in
proceedings in which maintenance is being reviewed, the court
shall consider the applicable factors set forth in subsection
(a) of Section 504 and the following factors:
(1) any change in the employment status of either party
and whether the change has been made in good faith;
(2) the efforts, if any, made by the party receiving
maintenance to become self-supporting, and the
reasonableness of the efforts where they are appropriate;
(3) any impairment of the present and future earning
capacity of either party;
(4) the tax consequences of the maintenance payments
upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties;
(5) the duration of the maintenance payments
previously paid (and remaining to be paid) relative to the
length of the marriage;

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(6) the property, including retirement benefits,
awarded to each party under the judgment of dissolution of
marriage, judgment of legal separation, or judgment of
declaration of invalidity of marriage and the present
status of the property;
(7) the increase or decrease in each party's income
since the prior judgment or order from which a review,
modification, or termination is being sought;
(8) the property acquired and currently owned by each
party after the entry of the judgment of dissolution of
marriage, judgment of legal separation, or judgment of
declaration of invalidity of marriage; and
(9) any other factor that the court expressly finds to
be just and equitable.
(a-6) In a review under subsection (b-4.5) of Section 504
of this Act, the court may enter a fixed-term maintenance award
that bars future maintenance only if, at the time of the entry
of the award, the marriage had lasted 10 years or less at the
time the original action was commenced.
(b) The provisions as to property disposition may not be
revoked or modified, unless the court finds the existence of
conditions that justify the reopening of a judgment under the
laws of this State.
(c) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in a written
agreement set forth in the judgment or otherwise approved by
the court, the obligation to pay future maintenance is

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terminated upon the death of either party, or the remarriage of
the party receiving maintenance, or if the party receiving
maintenance cohabits with another person on a resident,
continuing conjugal basis. A payor's obligation to pay
maintenance or unallocated maintenance terminates by operation
of law on the date the recipient remarries or the date the
court finds cohabitation began. The payor is entitled to
reimbursement for all maintenance paid from that date forward.
Any termination of an obligation for maintenance as a result of
the death of the payor party, however, shall be inapplicable to
any right of the other party or such other party's designee to
receive a death benefit under such insurance on the payor
party's life. A party receiving maintenance must advise the
payor of his or her intention to marry at least 30 days before
the remarriage, unless the decision is made within this time
period. In that event, he or she must notify the other party
within 72 hours of getting married.
(c-5) In an adjudicated case, the court shall make specific
factual findings as to the reason for the modification as well
as the amount, nature, and duration of the modified maintenance
award.
(d) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, or as agreed in
writing or expressly provided in the judgment, provisions for
the support of a child are terminated by emancipation of the
child, or if the child has attained the age of 18 and is still
attending high school, provisions for the support of the child

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are terminated upon the date that the child graduates from high
school or the date the child attains the age of 19, whichever
is earlier, but not by the death of a parent obligated to
support or educate the child. An existing obligation to pay for
support or educational expenses, or both, is not terminated by
the death of a parent. When a parent obligated to pay support
or educational expenses, or both, dies, the amount of support
or educational expenses, or both, may be enforced, modified,
revoked or commuted to a lump sum payment, as equity may
require, and that determination may be provided for at the time
of the dissolution of the marriage or thereafter.
(e) The right to petition for support or educational
expenses, or both, under Sections 505 and 513 is not
extinguished by the death of a parent. Upon a petition filed
before or after a parent's death, the court may award sums of
money out of the decedent's estate for the child's support or
educational expenses, or both, as equity may require. The time
within which a claim may be filed against the estate of a
decedent under Sections 505 and 513 and subsection (d) and this
subsection shall be governed by the provisions of the Probate
Act of 1975, as a barrable, noncontingent claim.
(f) A petition to modify or terminate child support or
allocation of parental responsibilities shall not delay any
child support enforcement litigation or supplementary
proceeding on behalf of the obligee, including, but not limited
to, a petition for a rule to show cause, for non-wage

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garnishment, or for a restraining order.
(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 99-764)
Sec. 510. Modification and termination of provisions for
maintenance, support, educational expenses, and property
disposition.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of
Section 502 and in subsection (b), clause (3) of Section 505.2,
the provisions of any judgment respecting maintenance or
support may be modified only as to installments accruing
subsequent to due notice by the moving party of the filing of
the motion for modification. An order for child support may be
modified as follows:
(1) upon a showing of a substantial change in
circumstances, including, subject to federal approval,
incarceration prior to January 1, 2018 or for a period of
incarceration of less than one year; and
(2) without the necessity of showing a substantial
change in circumstances, as follows:
(A) upon a showing of an inconsistency of at least
20%, but no less than $10 per month, between the amount
of the existing order and the amount of child support
that results from application of the guidelines
specified in Section 505 of this Act unless the
inconsistency is due to the fact that the amount of the

HB0236 - 11 - LRB100 04181 HEP 14187 b
existing order resulted from a deviation from the
guideline amount and there has not been a change in the
circumstances that resulted in that deviation; or
(B) upon a showing of a need to provide for the
health care needs of the child under the order through
health insurance or other means. In no event shall the
eligibility for or receipt of medical assistance be
considered to meet the need to provide for the child's
health care needs.
The provisions of subparagraph (a)(2)(A) shall apply only
in cases in which a party is receiving child support
enforcement services from the Department of Healthcare and
Family Services under Article X of the Illinois Public Aid
Code, and only when at least 36 months have elapsed since the
order for child support was entered or last modified.
The court may grant a petition for modification that seeks
to apply the changes made to subsection (a) of Section 505 by
Public Act 99-764 this amendatory Act of the 99th General
Assembly to an order entered before the effective date of
Public Act 99-764 this amendatory Act of the 99th General
Assembly only upon a finding of a substantial change in
circumstances that warrants application of the changes. The
enactment of Public Act 99-764 this amendatory Act of the 99th
General Assembly itself does not constitute a substantial
change in circumstances warranting a modification.
(a-5) An order for maintenance may be modified or

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terminated only upon a showing of a substantial change in
circumstances. In all such proceedings, as well as in
proceedings in which maintenance is being reviewed, the court
shall consider the applicable factors set forth in subsection
(a) of Section 504 and the following factors:
(1) any change in the employment status of either party
and whether the change has been made in good faith;
(2) the efforts, if any, made by the party receiving
maintenance to become self-supporting, and the
reasonableness of the efforts where they are appropriate;
(3) any impairment of the present and future earning
capacity of either party;
(4) the tax consequences of the maintenance payments
upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties;
(5) the duration of the maintenance payments
previously paid (and remaining to be paid) relative to the
length of the marriage;
(6) the property, including retirement benefits,
awarded to each party under the judgment of dissolution of
marriage, judgment of legal separation, or judgment of
declaration of invalidity of marriage and the present
status of the property;
(7) the increase or decrease in each party's income
since the prior judgment or order from which a review,
modification, or termination is being sought;
(8) the property acquired and currently owned by each

HB0236 - 13 - LRB100 04181 HEP 14187 b
party after the entry of the judgment of dissolution of
marriage, judgment of legal separation, or judgment of
declaration of invalidity of marriage; and
(9) any other factor that the court expressly finds to
be just and equitable.
(a-6) In a review under subsection (b-4.5) of Section 504
of this Act, the court may enter a fixed-term maintenance award
that bars future maintenance only if, at the time of the entry
of the award, the marriage had lasted 10 years or less at the
time the original action was commenced.
(b) The provisions as to property disposition may not be
revoked or modified, unless the court finds the existence of
conditions that justify the reopening of a judgment under the
laws of this State.
(c) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in a written
agreement set forth in the judgment or otherwise approved by
the court, the obligation to pay future maintenance is
terminated upon the death of either party, or the remarriage of
the party receiving maintenance, or if the party receiving
maintenance cohabits with another person on a resident,
continuing conjugal basis. A payor's obligation to pay
maintenance or unallocated maintenance terminates by operation
of law on the date the recipient remarries or the date the
court finds cohabitation began. The payor is entitled to
reimbursement for all maintenance paid from that date forward.
Any termination of an obligation for maintenance as a result of

HB0236 - 14 - LRB100 04181 HEP 14187 b
the death of the payor party, however, shall be inapplicable to
any right of the other party or such other party's designee to
receive a death benefit under such insurance on the payor
party's life. A party receiving maintenance must advise the
payor of his or her intention to marry at least 30 days before
the remarriage, unless the decision is made within this time
period. In that event, he or she must notify the other party
within 72 hours of getting married.
(c-5) In an adjudicated case, the court shall make specific
factual findings as to the reason for the modification as well
as the amount, nature, and duration of the modified maintenance
award.
(d) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, or as agreed in
writing or expressly provided in the judgment, provisions for
the support of a child are terminated by emancipation of the
child, or if the child has attained the age of 18 and is still
attending high school, provisions for the support of the child
are terminated upon the date that the child graduates from high
school or the date the child attains the age of 19, whichever
is earlier, but not by the death of a parent obligated to
support or educate the child. An existing obligation to pay for
support or educational expenses, or both, is not terminated by
the death of a parent. When a parent obligated to pay support
or educational expenses, or both, dies, the amount of support
or educational expenses, or both, may be enforced, modified,
revoked or commuted to a lump sum payment, as equity may

HB0236 - 15 - LRB100 04181 HEP 14187 b
require, and that determination may be provided for at the time
of the dissolution of the marriage or thereafter.
(d-5) During any period of time in which the obligor is
committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections or
the Department of Juvenile Justice, subject to federal
approval, an obligation to pay child support is suspended by
operation of law, but not until 60 days after the obligee
receives notice and an opportunity to request a termination or
modification of the suspension of the support obligation in
accordance with subsection (d-7) of this Section. If the
obligee requests that the suspension or prohibition of the
support obligation be terminated or modified and the court
terminates or modifies the suspension of the support
obligation, or if the parties have otherwise agreed in a
written agreement set forth in the judgment or otherwise
approved by the court, then the child support obligation shall
not be suspended and if the obligor wishes to obtain a
modification, he or she must petition for a modification of
support in accordance with this Section. The Department of
Healthcare and Family Services may provide, by rule, for notice
to the obligee describing the obligee's rights regarding a
prospective modification in accordance with this Section.
If an obligor receives a settlement, claim, inheritance,
lottery prize award, or other lump sum or periodic income of
$500 or more a month or $5,000 or more as a one-time lump sum,
during a period in which his or her child support obligation is

HB0236 - 16 - LRB100 04181 HEP 14187 b
suspended pursuant to Section 10-12.5 of the Illinois Public
Aid Code, the obligor shall notify the obligee, and in IV-D
cases also notify the Department of Healthcare and Family
Services, within 7 days of receiving or becoming aware that he
or she is entitled to receive this income. If the obligee
wishes to obtain a modification based on this income, he or she
must petition for a modification of support in accordance with
this Section.
(d-6) The State shall not consider any period of
incarceration of an obligor as a period of voluntary
unemployment that disqualifies the parent from obtaining a
modification of the support obligation consistent with the
obligor's ability to pay child support. In the case of an
incarcerated obligor, the State shall, subject to federal
approval:
(1) temporarily suspend any support obligation of the
obligor and the enforcement of any support obligation of
the obligor existing prior to the period of incarceration;
and
(2) temporarily prohibit the accrual of any interest on
any support obligation of the obligor existing prior to the
period of incarceration during the incarceration.
(d-7) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, for
cases enrolled in the Child Support Enforcement Program
established by Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, or the
obligor or his or her representative in all other cases, shall

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provide the obligee with:
(1) notice of any suspension or review, adjustment, or
enforcement of a support obligation and notice of any
prohibition on the accrual of interest on the support
obligation that is imposed in accordance with paragraphs
(1) and (2) of subsection (d-6); and
(2) an opportunity to request that the suspension or
prohibition be terminated or modified on the basis that the
obligor has sufficient income or resources to continue
payment of the support obligation during the obligor's
period of incarceration.
(e) The right to petition for support or educational
expenses, or both, under Sections 505 and 513 is not
extinguished by the death of a parent. Upon a petition filed
before or after a parent's death, the court may award sums of
money out of the decedent's estate for the child's support or
educational expenses, or both, as equity may require. The time
within which a claim may be filed against the estate of a
decedent under Sections 505 and 513 and subsection (d) and this
subsection shall be governed by the provisions of the Probate
Act of 1975, as a barrable, noncontingent claim.
(f) A petition to modify or terminate child support or
allocation of parental responsibilities shall not delay any
child support enforcement litigation or supplementary
proceeding on behalf of the obligee, including, but not limited
to, a petition for a rule to show cause, for non-wage

HB0236 - 18 - LRB100 04181 HEP 14187 b
garnishment, or for a restraining order.
(g) The crime for which the incarcerated obligor was
convicted, or the prosecution of the incarcerated obligor for
that crime by a legal representative of the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services for cases enrolled in the Child
Support Enforcement Program established by Title IV-D of the
Social Security Act, shall not disqualify the obligor from
consideration of modification of a child support obligation,
nor shall the action of the Department's legal representative
to bring forth the modification request for consideration be
considered a conflict of interest for the prosecuting office,
except in cases in which the crime was committed to avoid a
child support obligation or was committed against a child of
the obligor or the obligee.
(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16; 99-764, eff. 7-1-17; revised
9-8-16.)