On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Support on Monday, August 19, 2013.
There is a $3.1 billion child support backlog in Illinois. In order to try and collect for those mothers and fathers who are owed money, a new law was passed that will make it legal to take gambling winnings from parents who are behind on child support in the state.
Going forward, when someone wins more than $1,200 at a casino or racetrack in Illinois, their name will be checked against a database. If it comes up that this parent owes child support, their winnings will be taken and given to the Department of Healthcare and Human Services. This department will then distribute the money to the parent who is owed child support.
Sen. Darrin LaHood sponsored this bill, which went into effect immediately. He believes this law could bring in as much as $1 million in unpaid child support during its first year in action.
In general, when it comes to child support in Illinois, statutory guidelines are used in order to determine how much a parent should pay. A number of factors are used in this formula, with net income of the non-custodial parent being the most widely used source of information.
Once this amount is determined, paying is not something that is discretionary. Rather, by law, the non-custodial parent must pay this amount.
Of course though, this does not always happen and a parent either falls behind on payments due to financial circumstances, or for whatever reason, decides to just not pay. In these situations, where a parent is owed child support money, an attorney with experience handling child support enforcement can provide insight into what legal options may be available in order to recover that money.
Source: CBS St. Louis, “Illinois Law Takes Child Support From Casino Winnings,” Aug. 19, 2013
