Bill Text: IL HJR0168 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the Governor to formally request the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys, Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch to look into Illinois having court appointed counselors who are engaging in unnecessary practices that create high legal bills,
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-12-01 - Referred to Rules Committee [HJR0168 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HJR0168-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, House Resolution 1101 (5/19/08), House Resolution | ||||||
| 3 | 1428 (7/15/08), House Resolution 1517
(9/10/08), House | ||||||
| 4 | Resolution 11 (2/11/90), and House Resolution 870 (2/11/10) | ||||||
| 5 | formed the Illinois Family Law Study
Committee; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Family Law Study Committee | ||||||
| 7 | subcommittee on custody, aka
POD 1, produced a report on April | ||||||
| 8 | 10, 2010, which stated in the pertinent section that | ||||||
| 9 | "Secondarily,
the effect of the present system, in practice, | ||||||
| 10 | has created "cottage industries" of GALs/child
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| 11 | representatives, custody evaluators, and others, who have | ||||||
| 12 | increased litigation costs and are not
necessarily helpful in | ||||||
| 13 | reducing conflicts between the parents"; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The House of Representatives, Judiciary I Civil | ||||||
| 15 | Law Committee issued a
May 15, 2012 letter signed by all 11 | ||||||
| 16 | committee members to members of the Illinois Supreme Court | ||||||
| 17 | Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, voicing | ||||||
| 18 | concern about the lack of
attorney discipline "occurring in the | ||||||
| 19 | area of child representatives and guardian ad litems
appointed | ||||||
| 20 | under the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS | ||||||
| 21 | 5/506) in various court
systems throughout the State; and
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| 22 | WHEREAS, The Illinois family court system participates in, | ||||||
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| 1 | and is otherwise subsidized by,
a Federal Program involving | ||||||
| 2 | child support enforcement State and federal funding under, | ||||||
| 3 | inter
alia, Social Security Act, Title IV-D (42 U.S.C. § 651 et | ||||||
| 4 | seq), Title 45 Code of Federal
Regulations Illinois Public Aid | ||||||
| 5 | Code (305 ILCS 5/10-1 et seq), Title 89 Illinois Administrative
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| 6 | Code; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Illinois' participation in the aforesaid Title | ||||||
| 8 | IV-D Federal Program requires
strict adherence to the State and | ||||||
| 9 | federal laws and rules and regulations governing said program; | ||||||
| 10 | and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, The Illinois budget impasse resulted in the March | ||||||
| 12 | 2016 resurrection of a 1992
federal lawsuit involving the | ||||||
| 13 | aforesaid Title IV-D Federal Program, the executive agency of | ||||||
| 14 | the
Governor responsible for the administration of said Federal | ||||||
| 15 | Program, namely, the Illinois
Department of Healthcare and | ||||||
| 16 | Family Services (HFS), and a certified class of Cook County
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| 17 | parents; 2016 court proceedings disclosed costly | ||||||
| 18 | intergovernmental agreements
between HFS and circuit courts in | ||||||
| 19 | 11 of the 102 counties of Illinois, among other issues of
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| 20 | fiscal and legal concern involving the administration of the | ||||||
| 21 | Title IV-D Federal Program and
Illinois family court | ||||||
| 22 | proceedings statewide; and
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| 23 | WHEREAS, The April 10, 2010 report of the Illinois Family | ||||||
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| 1 | Law Study Committee,
subcommittee on custody, among other | ||||||
| 2 | authorities, indicate an unaddressed systemic problem in
the | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois family court system which calls into question | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois' adherence to the State and federal laws and rules and | ||||||
| 5 | regulations governing Illinois' participation in the aforesaid | ||||||
| 6 | Title IV-D
Federal Program; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, A majority of members of the Senate and House of | ||||||
| 8 | Representative of the
Illinois General Assembly are committed | ||||||
| 9 | to the lawful participation of Illinois in the Title IV-D | ||||||
| 10 | Federal Program; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Legislature has not passed an annual | ||||||
| 12 | state budget since May
of 2014; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, A majority of members of the Senate and House of | ||||||
| 14 | Representatives of the
Illinois General Assembly are committed | ||||||
| 15 | to the passing of a balanced budget funding lawful
proceedings | ||||||
| 16 | of the judicial branch of Illinois government; therefore, be it
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| 17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 18 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 19 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the Governor to formally | ||||||
| 20 | request the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, | ||||||
| 21 | Office of the United States Attorneys, Civil Division, Federal | ||||||
| 22 | Programs Branch pertinent
to the issues raised herein; and be | ||||||
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| 1 | it further
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| 2 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 3 | presented to the Governor.
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