Presenters: Grace G. Dickler- Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division
Christopher Johnson- Cook County State's Attorney's Office
Caitlin Harrington- Illinois Attorney General's Office
Dawn Porter- Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
Historical Background
Prior to 1993 Parentage Cases were heard by First Municipal Judges located in police stations across the city.
Non-marital Childbearing in the
United States
SOURCE: Center for Disease Control, National Vital Statistics System
New Organization of the Domestic Relations Division
Upon Consolidation the Division will be
comprised as Follows:
15 Individual Calendar Judges
3 Judicial Teams (1 Preliminary Judge and 5 Trial Judges per Team)
3 Expedited Judges
8 Current Individual Calendars Judges from Domestic Relations
Cal. 21 Cal. 61
Cal. 22 Cal. 62
Cal. 23 Cal. 63
Cal. 24 Cal. 64
6 (Former) Parentage Court Calendars
Cal.89 Cal. 97
Cal. 94 Cal. 98
Cal. 95 Cal. 99
1 (Former)Post-Decree Calendar
Cal. 11
15 Individual Calendar Judges The following Calendars will comprise the 15 Individual Calendar Judges:
Individual Calendar Judge Assignment
Name of Judge Calendar Courtroom
1. Judge Haracz 61 3004
2. Judge Scannicchio 62 3010
3. Judge Arce 63 2002
4. Judge Bernstein 64 3002
5. Judge Katz 21 1902
6. Judge Logue 22 1506
7. Judge Mathein Judge Vega 23 3009 3001
8. Judge Carr 24 1608
9. Judge Kaplan Judge Kelley 89 CL06 3006
10. Judge Romanek 94 CL08 CL12
11. Judge Cocozza 95 CL09
12. Judge Martinez 97 CL04
13. Judge Marubio 98 CL02
14 Judge Loza 99 CL12 3009
15. Judge Trew 11 3003
TEAM TRIAL JUDGES
TEAM C TEAM D Team E
Calendar C -Judge Boyd Courtroom: 1605
Calendar D-Judge Bellows Room: 1602
Calendar C-Judge Nega Courtroom: 1603
Cal. 31.-Judge Tim Murphy Courtroom: 1903
Cal. 41-Judge Rivera Courtroom: 1908
Cal. 51-Judge Flannigan Courtroom: 1901
Cal. 32-Judge Ahern Courtroom: 1508
Cal. 42-Judge Jean-Baptiste Courtroom: 2807
Cal. 52- Judge Fernandez Courtroom: 3008
Cal. 33-Judge Lopez Courtroom: 3005
Cal. 43-Judge Schuster Courtroom: 3007
Cal. 53-Judge Durkin Courtroom: 2103A
Cal. 34-Judge Ross Courtroom: 1607
Cal. 44-Judge Schleifer Courtroom: 1601A
Cal. 54-Judge Vega Judge Kaplan
Courtroom: 3006 CL06
Cal. 35-Judge Goldfarb Courtroom: 2805
Cal. 45-Judge Kelley TBD
Courtroom: 3006 CL08
Cal. 55: Judge Kubalanza TBD
Courtroom: 1603A
EXPEDITED JUDGES
3 Expedited Judges
Name of Judge Calendar Courtroom
1. TBD 73 CL 11
2. Judge Walker 75 2108
3. Judge Bowes 74 1901A
Assignment of Newly Filed Cases Upon Consolidation, newly filed cases will be assigned to
the following 18 Judicial Calendars:
Cal C Cal. 23
Cal. D Cal. 24
Cal E Cal. 89
Cal. 61 Cal. 94
Cal. 62 Cal. 95
Cal. 63 Cal. 97
Cal. 64 Cal.98
Cal. 21 Cal. 99
Cal 22 Cal. 11
New Procedures for Judicial Team Calendars
In order to promote continuity in case flow, upon consolidation, each judge assigned to Judicial Teams C, D, & E shall have their own post decree call, with the exception of the preliminary judge on each team.
There will no longer be a post-decree judge on each team. Rather each team trial judge will have their own post-decree court call day and prove up day.
The existing case load on each post-decree judge’s Calendar will be evenly distributed among all of the judges on that team.
Redistribution of Cases Existing on Judicial Team Post-Decree Calendars
The Team post-decree calendars shall be randomly distributed as follows:
The former post-decree judge will keep the same percentage of post-decree cases as those randomized to all of the judges on the team.
Team C
Calendar 33 Cases
distributed equally among Calendars
31, 32, 33, 34 and 35
Team D
Cal 43 Cases
distributed equally among Calendars
41, 42, 43, 44, and 45
Team E
Calendar 54 Cases
distributed equally among Calendars
51, 52, 53, 54 and 55
Calendar 11 is a post-decree calendar that was assigned cases from all 3 Judicial Teams (C,D,E).
Upon consolidation, Calendar 11 will become an Individual Calendar.
Thus, Calendar 11’s case load will be redistributed among all 15 team trial judges with exception of each team’s preliminary judge.
Calendar 11’s caseload will be distributed as follows:
Calendar 11 Cases:
distributed equally among Calendars
31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51,
52, 53, 54 and 55
Redistribution of Existing Post-Decree Cases on Calendar 11
POST CARDS/STATUS CALL SCHEDULE
Mon., January 16
Court Closed
Tues., January 17
Calendar 31/Room 1903
Calendar 41/Room 1908
Calendar 51/Room1901
Wed., January 18
Calendar 35/Room 2805
Calendar 43/Room 3007
Calendar 52/Room 3008
Thurs., January 19
Calendar 34 /Room 1601
Calendar 45/Room CL08
Calendar 55/1603 A
Friday, Jan. 20
Calendar 32/Room 1508
Calendar 44 /Room 1601A
Calendar 53/Room 2103A
Mon., January 23
Calendar 33/Room 3005
Calendar 42/Room 2807
Calendar 54/Room CL 06
Tues., January 24
Calendar 31/Room 1903
Calendar 41/Room 1908
Calendar 51/Room1901
Wed., January 25
Calendar 35/Room 2805
Calendar 43/Room 3007
Calendar 52/Room 3008
Thurs., January 26
Calendar 34 /Room 1601
Calendar 45/Room CL08
Calendar 55/1603 A
Friday, Jan. 27
Calendar 32/Room 1508
Calendar 44 /Room 1601A
Calendar 53/Room 2103A
Mon., January 30
Calendar 33/Room 3005
Calendar 42/Room 2807
Calendar 54/Room CL 06
The Cook County Clerk’s Office will send out status post cards to all randomized post-decree cases with status dates to take place according to the following schedule:
Post-Consolidation Team Calendar
Scheduling TEAM C
Calendar Scheduling
Preliminary Judge SAO Day- Every Tuesday
Calendar Prove Up Day Post-Decree Day
Cal. 31 Monday Tuesday
Cal. 32 Thursday Friday
Cal. 33 Friday Monday
Cal. 34 Wednesday Thursday
Cal. 35 Tuesday Wednesday
Team D
Calendar Scheduling
Preliminary Judge SAO Day- Every Wednesday
Calendar Prove Up
Day
Post-Decree
Day
Cal. 41 Monday Tuesday
Cal. 42 Friday Monday
Cal. 43 Tuesday Wednesday
Cal 44 Thursday Friday
Cal.45 Wednesday Thursday
TEAM E
Calendar Scheduling
Preliminary Judge SAO Day- Every Monday
Calendar Prove Up
Day
Post-Decree
Day
Cal. 51 Monday Tuesday
Cal. 52 Tuesday Wednesday
Cal. 53 Thursday Friday
Cal. 54 Friday Monday
Cal. 55 Wednesday Thursday
Creation of Calendar 11 Individual Calendar Case Inventory
The redistribution of Cal. 11 post-decree cases will leave Cal. 11 with zero cases.
Cal. 11’s new individual calendar case load will be created with the “overage” of cases in the currently existing Individual Calendar judges’ caseloads.
All efforts shall be made to equalize the pre-decree and post-decree case load on each Individual Calendar. (Calendars: 21, 22, 23, 24, 61, 62, 63, 64)
Cases shall be randomly pulled and reassigned to effectuate an equal distribution. Upon completion of the equalization, the Cook County Clerk’s Office will send out status post cards to all randomized cases with status dates on which to appear before the newly assigned judge.
Definition of “Post-Decree” in Parentage Cases
A Parentage case will be considered “post-decree” under any of the following three circumstances: 1. Where there is a finding of paternity with no other
matters pending before the court 2. Where there is a finding of paternity and an order for
child support entered with no other matters pending before the court
3. Where there has been entry of judgments of paternity, child support and allocation of parental responsibilities (APR)
If a parentage case has been transferred to post decree, but one of the above delineated issues arises upon which no original judgment has been entered – the team trial judge will transfer that matter to the preliminary judge.
Judicial Team New Post-Decree Procedure
Dissolution Cases If a trial is held in a dissolution
case, the case will remain with the team judge that presided over the trial for post decree.
If a team trial judge conducts a prove up in a case, that case will be randomly assigned to a judge on that team for post-decree.
Parties may motion requesting that a case remain with the judge that conducted the prove up.
The criteria to be considered is: was prove-up judge’s prior contact substantial enough to warrant retaining the case on their post decree calendar?
Parentage Cases If a trial is held in a parentage case
the judge who presided over the trial will keep the case for post decree.
If a trial has not been held in a parentage case and judgment logic indicates that the case is a post-decree parentage case, the case will be randomly assigned to a judge on the team for post decree.
If a parentage case is transferred to post decree, but significant issues were not addressed (e.g. Allocation of Parental Responsibilities or child support), the post-decree judge will have the option of returning the matter to the preliminary judge so the issue can be addressed as a pre-decree matter.
Hearing Officers
Historically, Hearing Officers in Parentage Court were funded by Healthcare and Family Services (HFS).
As a result of this funding, Hearing Officers were limited to only addressing IV-D issues between unwed parents.
Commencing February 6, 2017, Hearing Officers will be funded by Cook County through the Office of the Chief Judge.
Given this new funding source, Hearing Officers’ roles will be expanded.
New Role of Hearing Officers
After February 6, 2017 Hearing Officers will work on both dissolution and parentage cases.
Hearing Officers will continue to fulfill their duties with regard to IV-D child support issues but will also serve as a resource for self represented parties not associated with the Title IV-D program
The Hearing Officer role will include assisting with the facilitation and memorialization of Parenting Plans and other agreements relating to the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time.
CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON
DEPUTY SUPERVISOR
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
TEAM CALANDARS (Total =18) Team C Team D Team E
Cal. C (Prelim): Tuesday D (Prelim) Wednesday Cal. E (Prelim) Monday
Cal. 31-1st and 3rd Tuesday Cal. 41 2nd and 4th Tuesday Cal. 51 1st and 3rd Tuesday
Cal. 32 1st and 3rd Friday Cal. 42 1st and 3rd Monday Cal. 52 1st and 3rd Wednesday
Cal. 33 2nd and 4th Monday Cal. 43 2nd and 4th Wednesday Cal. 53 1st and 3rd Friday
Cal. 34 2nd and 4th Thursday Cal. 44 2nd and 4th Friday Cal. 54 1st and 3rd Monday
Cal. 35 1st and 3rd Wednesday Cal. 45 2nd and 4th Thursday
Cal. 55 2nd and 4th Thursday
INDIVIDUAL CALENDARS (Total =15) Calendar 11 2nd and 4th Thursday Calendar 64 1st and 3rd Thursday
Calendar 21 1st and 3rd Thursday Calendar 89 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Calendar 22 2nd and 4th Tuesday Calendar 94 Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Calendar 23 2nd and 4th Wednesday Calendar 95 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Calendar 24 1st and 3rd Monday Calendar 97 Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Calendar 61 1st and 3rd Tuesday Calendar 98 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Calendar 62 2nd and 4th Monday Calendar 99 Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Calendar 63 2nd and 4th Tuesday
SAO Calendar Coverage~ Effective 2/6/17
CAITLIN A. HARRINGTON ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
Office of the Attorney General
Send Pleadings To:
Mail: Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services
Office of General Counsel 401 S. Clinton – 6th floor Chicago, Illinois 60607
Attention: Sharon Shapiro, Assistant General Counsel
Fax: 312-793-3355 E-mail: [email protected]
www.childsupportillinois.com
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY
DOMESTIC RELATIONS/PARENTAGE CONSOLIDATION PROJECT
Management structure of the consolidated Domestic Relations Division:
Chief Deputy Clerk
Assistant Chief Deputy Clerk (Room 802) and Assistant Chief Deputy Clerk (Room LL01)
Co-Management Team for:
Courtrooms, Cashiers & Counters, Records Management, Data Entry,
Customer Care & Correspondence, Scanning & Appeals Preparation
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY
DOMESTIC RELATIONS/PARENTAGE CONSOLIDATION PROJECT
The filing locations for the consolidated Domestic Relations Division will be located in Rooms 802 and LL01 in the Daley Center. Customer Service contact numbers are: (312) 603-6300 and (312) 345-4015.
Available services in both rooms include:
Customers may file new cases.
Customers may file on existing cases.
Customers may request copies of documents.
Customers may request case status information.
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY
DOMESTIC RELATIONS/PARENTAGE CONSOLIDATION PROJECT
Access to physical files in the consolidated Domestic Relations Division:
In May 2012, the Imaging and Document Management System (IDMS) Program rolled out in Parentage and Domestic Relations Division.
Imaged documents/files are available to review and print from the Digital Access Terminals located in all Clerk’s Office locations.
Domestic Relations physical case files 2011-current are available in Room 802 of the Daley Center; case files 2010 and prior are stored off-site and are available upon request.
Child Support physical case files 2005-current are available in Room LL01; case files 2004 and prior are stored off-site and are available upon request.
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY
DOMESTIC RELATIONS/PARENTAGE CONSOLIDATION PROJECT
Operational Training of Clerk’s Office Staff:
Counter & Cashiering staff trained to process all case types filed within consolidated division.
Court Clerks trained to handle all case types heard in consolidated courtrooms.
Customer Service Teams trained to answer customer inquiries.
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY
DOMESTIC RELATIONS/PARENTAGE CONSOLIDATION PROJECT
Publicizing of consolidated Domestic Relations
Division: Clerk’s Office website contact information to be updated.
Automated Customer Service telephone messages to be revised.
New signage to be created for Daley Center Rooms 802, LL01, CL24 and the Concourse Level common areas.
Flyers/posters displayed for customers.
Email and advertising promotion of consolidated Domestic Relations Division.
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY
eCourt Initiatives
Mandatory eFiling, effective January 1, 2018 (eFiling training webinar videos available on Clerk’s Office website (www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org); Download the Clerk’s Office Mobile App; Use Digital Access Terminals in all Clerk’s Office locations; Go Green: eFile, eNotice, use Digital Access Terminal and online fillable forms.
