Cook County Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where Cook County cases are heard

Cook County divorce, parentage, parenting and post-decree matters go to the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The division's main courthouse is the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602. The presiding judge's courtroom is 1905, and the Clerk's Domestic Relations office is Room 802.

Useful numbers before you make a trip downtown:

• Domestic Relations Division: (312) 603-3025
• Clerk of the Circuit Court, Domestic Relations: (312) 603-6441

Venue is governed by 750 ILCS 5/104: a dissolution case is filed in the county where either party resides. If you live in Cook County, Cook County is a proper venue even if your spouse has moved elsewhere in Illinois. Separately, 750 ILCS 5/401 requires 90 days of Illinois residency (or military presence in the state) before a judgment of dissolution can be entered — that is a requirement for the judgment, not a bar to filing and asking for temporary relief.

Details about the division, including current procedures, are posted at the Domestic Relations Division page. Call the division or the clerk to confirm how your particular matter should be presented before you rely on anything you read, including this page.

What the Cook County court will require of you

Parenting education. Cook County runs Focus on Children for litigating parents in dissolution and parentage cases, under 750 ILCS 5/404.1 and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924. It is a four-hour in-person class, with Spanish sessions twice a month and interpreters by arrangement; an online alternative, Children In Between Online, is available. The cost is $50 unless waived by the judge. Register through Family Court Services at (312) 603-1540 or DRD.family@cookcountyil.gov, and send a copy of the court order with your registration. Program details are at the parent education page.

Mediation. Mediation is mandatory in Cook County for the initial allocation of parental responsibilities, modification of allocation, relocation, and non-parent visitation. It is discretionary for financial and discovery disputes. When parents cannot agree on a mediator for a child-related dispute, Family Court Services handles the mediation; otherwise the parties may use a court-certified or agreed private mediator. The contact number is (312) 603-1540. See the mediation program page for how the program operates.

A parenting plan. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, each parent files a proposed parenting plan within 120 days after service or filing. The plan addresses decision-making under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/602.7. Parents who can agree file a joint plan; where they cannot, mediation comes first for the issues listed above.

Financial disclosure. Property is divided under 750 ILCS 5/503, maintenance is decided under 750 ILCS 5/504 including the guideline formula at 504(b-1), and child support is calculated on an income-shares basis under 750 ILCS 5/505. All of that runs on documented income and assets, so expect to produce tax returns, pay records, and account statements early.

Relief you can ask for before the case ends. 750 ILCS 5/501 covers temporary relief, including temporary support and exclusive possession of the marital residence under 501(c-2). 750 ILCS 5/603.5 allows a temporary allocation of parental responsibilities. Where a child is seriously endangered, 750 ILCS 5/603.10 allows restriction of parental responsibilities. After judgment, support and allocation judgments are modified under 750 ILCS 5/510.

Moving with a child. Because Cook County is one of the listed collar counties, 750 ILCS 5/609.2 treats a move of more than 25 miles from Cook County as a relocation requiring notice and, if contested, court approval. A move of more than 25 miles out of state is also a relocation. Relocation is one of the disputes that goes to mediation.

Local help in Cook County

If you are in danger. The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is (877) 863-6338 and takes calls from across Chicagoland. Orders of protection are governed by 750 ILCS 60/214, which lists the remedies a court can order, and 750 ILCS 60/217, which allows an emergency order without prior notice to the other party. If you are calling from a phone or account the other person may be able to see, consider using a device they do not have access to.

Free and low-cost legal help.

• Legal Aid Chicago — (312) 341-1070, legalaidchicago.org
• CARPLS legal aid hotline — (312) 738-9200, carpls.org

Family Court Services is at 69 W. Washington St., Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60602, phone (312) 603-1540. It provides parent education, mediation, evaluations, emergency intervention, and children's support groups. More information is at the Family Court Services page.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices at Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. The phone number is (312) 621-4394.

The work covers divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, child support and maintenance, orders of protection, and post-decree enforcement, with particular experience in cases that turn on financial records and digital evidence — concealed assets and crypto, message and parenting-app records, and spyware and account intrusions. Jonathan holds cybersecurity credentials (CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC, EC-Council CEH), which matters when the disputed facts live in account histories and devices rather than in testimony.

How to start. Prospects begin with a short online form. The office then runs a conflict check and calls back, and a 15-minute screening call can be booked online. Before that call, it helps to have on hand: the county each spouse lives in, whether anything has been filed and in which court, the ages of any children, and a rough list of accounts and income sources.

If your matter is urgent — a safety issue, a threatened move with a child, or money disappearing from accounts — say so in the form so the callback can be prioritized. If you are in immediate danger, call the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline at (877) 863-6338 rather than waiting for a callback.