Bill Text: IL HR1542 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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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) 2017-01-09 - Referred to Rules Committee [HR1542 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HR1542-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, House Resolution 1101 (5/19/08), House Resolution
1428 (7/15/08), House Resolution 1517 (9/10/08), House
Resolution 11 (2/11/90), and House Resolution 870 (2/11/10)
formed the Illinois Family Law Study Committee; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois Family Law Study Committee
subcommittee on custody, aka POD 1, produced a report on April
10, 2010, which stated in the pertinent section that
"Secondarily, the effect of the present system, in practice,
has created "cottage industries" of GALs/child
representatives, custody evaluators, and others, who have
increased litigation costs and are not necessarily helpful in
reducing conflicts between the parents"; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives, Judiciary I Civil
Law Committee issued a May 15, 2012 letter signed by all 11
committee members to members of the Illinois Supreme Court
Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, voicing
concern about the lack of attorney discipline "occurring in the
area of child representatives and guardian ad litems appointed
under the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS
5/506) in various court systems throughout the State; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois family court system participates in,

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and is otherwise subsidized by, a Federal Program involving
child support enforcement State and federal funding under,
inter alia, Social Security Act, Title IV-D (42 U.S.C. § 651 et
seq), Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations Illinois Public Aid
Code (305 ILCS 5/10-1 et seq), Title 89 Illinois Administrative
Code; and
WHEREAS, Illinois' participation in the aforesaid Title
IV-D Federal Program requires strict adherence to the State and
federal laws and rules and regulations governing said program;
and
WHEREAS, The Illinois budget impasse resulted in the March
2016 resurrection of a 1992 federal lawsuit involving the
aforesaid Title IV-D Federal Program, the executive agency of
the Governor responsible for the administration of said Federal
Program, namely, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and
Family Services (HFS), and a certified class of Cook County
parents; 2016 court proceedings disclosed costly
intergovernmental agreements between HFS and circuit courts in
11 of the 102 counties of Illinois, among other issues of
fiscal and legal concern involving the administration of the
Title IV-D Federal Program and Illinois family court
proceedings statewide; and
WHEREAS, The April 10, 2010 report of the Illinois Family

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Law Study Committee, subcommittee on custody, among other
authorities, indicate an unaddressed systemic problem in the
Illinois family court system which calls into question
Illinois' adherence to the State and federal laws and rules and
regulations governing Illinois' participation in the aforesaid
Title IV-D Federal Program; and
WHEREAS, A majority of members of the Senate and House of
Representative of the Illinois General Assembly are committed
to the lawful participation of Illinois in the Title IV-D
Federal Program; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois Legislature has not passed an annual
state budget since May of 2014; and
WHEREAS, A majority of members of the Senate and House of
Representatives of the Illinois General Assembly are committed
to the passing of a balanced budget funding lawful proceedings
of the judicial branch of Illinois government; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
urge Governor Rauner to formally request the assistance of the
United States Department of Justice, Office of the United
States Attorneys, Civil Division Federal Programs Branch to
address identified private and public fiscal and legal issues

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pertinent to Illinois' family court proceedings subsidized by
the federal Title IV-D child support program; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
delivered to Governor Rauner.