Child support payments cover the basic needs of the child such as food, clothing and shelter.  Child support payments do not necessarily include expenses related to education, medical/dental costs, extracurricular activities or daycare.  A court may order that the payor pay additional amounts for these or other child related expenses.

In determining a dollar amount for child support, Illinois courts are required to follow the minimum guidelines set forth by statute.  In rare circumstances, the court can deviate from the child support guidelines.  The current guidelines for child support are as follows:

Generally, the net income of the payor equals the gross income of the payor minus the following:

• federal income tax
• state income tax
• Social Security (FICA payments)
• mandatory retirement contributions required by law or as a condition of employment (voluntary retirement plans are not deducted)
• union dues
• dependent and individual health insurance premiums
• life insurance premiums ordered by the court to secure support payments (effective January 1, 2012)
• prior obligations of support or maintenance actually paid pursuant to court order foster care payments paid by the Department of Children and Family Services

After the Court has determined a child support amount, the Court will enter a Uniform Order for Support.  The Uniform Order of Support will state the following:

• amount of child support payment
• frequency of payments (i.e., weekly, bi-weekly, bi-monthly, monthly)
• who is responsible for providing health insurance for the child or children
• percentage of uninsured medical costs for which payor is responsible
• whether payments are to be deducted from payor’s paycheck or payor is responsible for making the payments directly
• whether the payments are to be paid directly to the payee or to the Illinois State Disbursement Unit
• termination date for support payments
• amount of penalty for late support payments

The Illinois State Disbursement Unit (ILSDU) is the payments processing center for all Illinois child support payments. The ILSDU processes child payments from the payors and issues checks or direct deposits to the payees. 

The ILSDU website is www.ilsdu.com.  On this website, you can view payments and disbursements that have occurred within the last 30 days.

ILDSU Contact Information:

Child support cases are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Office either in the Clerk’s Child Support Division, located at 28 N. Clark, Room 200 or in the Clerk’s Domestic Relations Division, located at the Daley Center in Room 802. Parents who were never married must file their child support cases with the Clerk’s Child Support Division while parents who are married or divorced must file their child support cases in the Clerk’s Domestic Relations Division.

Child support cases may also be filed at any of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County offices located in the suburban municipal district courthouses.

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services offers free child support enforcement services to Illinois families. To get more information, please visit the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ website at www.childsupportillinois.com.

Failure to pay child support as ordered does not entitle the payee parent to withhold visitation from the payor parent.  The status of child support payments does not affect the visitation rights of the non-custodial/non-residential parent.

Likewise, a payor parent cannot withhold child support payments because the payee parent is denying visitation.  No matter how often a parent sees a child, that parent has an affirmative obligation to financially support the child.