Deadbeat Parents’ Privileges Can Be Suspended

The state of Illinois has a variety of ways to force parents to pay child support. In recent years, state legislation has cracked down on so-called deadbeat dads and moms who don’t pay up.

According to Becky Jenkins of the Pike County circuit clerk’s office that oversees collection of child support in Pike County, there are more than 700 child support cases on record locally. A printout of those cases with balances due, shows a significant amount of those in arrears, some in amounts totaling several thousand dollars.

The State of Illinois has been passing legislation to get children the financial help they deserve. There is a new law that went into effect in October of this year that gives them the power to suspend the driver’s license of a deadbeat parent. The new law allows the Department of Human and Family Services to issue a letter to the violator and gives them a time to come into compliance, to either become current or enter into a payment arrangement. If they don’t, DHFS can issue a notice to to suspend their license until it’s paid. A court order is no longer required.Hunting and fishing licenses may also be denied if a parent is more than $1,000 delinquent.