Chicago DUI lawyer says driver's license suspensions continue to increase because of delinquent child support payments

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here about child support and driver’s license suspensions.

Today I had two people call within a half hour of each other. Each told me that their license was either currently suspended or eminently would be suspended for falling behind in making child support payments.

The other significant problem both faced was that default judgments had been entered against them for child support. That means the parent in default never appeared in court to show the court whether they were even accepting parentage, never mind what they could pay on a regular basis in child support. As you can imagine, if you aren’t the parent then you aren’t on the hook for child support payments.

What you may not know is that modifications of child support are granted. There are probably more modifications being granted now, nationally, than there have been historically due to the overwhelming fall out from the economic recession.

From the Latimes.com:

California's rising unemployment rate is driving a steep increase in child support cases, as the newly jobless appeal for increases in monthly payments or argue that they can no longer afford the amounts ordered by the court.

Paradoxically, higher unemployment rates have led to a slight rise in the amount of child support collected this fiscal year, in part because the state can easily garnishee unemployment checks.
As child support money taken out of payroll checks dropped by more than $20 million through the end of February, compared with the same period a year ago, money withheld from unemployment checks nearly doubled, rising to $64 million from $34 million.
It appears to be a national trend. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in late March reported a 39% increase nationwide in the number of divorced spouses requesting changes to child support agreements.

The irony, in these dire economic times, is that the people who called me today both earned a living by driving. I certainly hope the child support court will take that into account in assisting these individuals to get their driving privileges restored. It’s the quickest route to ensuring the economic health of children throughout the state.