Glenview Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where Glenview cases are heard

Glenview sits in Cook County's Second Municipal District. The district courthouse is the Skokie Courthouse at 5600 Old Orchard Rd., Skokie, IL 60077, phone (847) 470-7250, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Skokie Courthouse hears divorce proceedings, paternity and child support matters, and divorce-related orders of protection. Besides Glenview, it serves Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glencoe, Golf, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Park Ridge, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka.

You are not limited to Skokie. A Cook County resident may file a domestic relations case downtown at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602, home of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The presiding judge's courtroom is 1905, and the clerk's Domestic Relations office is Room 802. The Division's number is (312) 603-3025; the clerk's Domestic Relations number is (312) 603-6441. When a party lives in one of the suburban municipal districts, that district's courthouse is the local option and the downtown location remains available.

Two threshold points before you file. Venue under 750 ILCS 5/104 is the county where either party resides, so Cook County is proper if you live in Glenview. And under 750 ILCS 5/401, a judgment of dissolution requires 90 days of Illinois residency (or military presence) before judgment enters — that clock runs while the case is pending, so it rarely blocks filing.

Details of the suburban districts are published by the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the Clerk's suburban districts page; the Domestic Relations Division describes its downtown operations at cookcountycourtil.gov.

What Cook County requires of parents and spouses

Parenting education. Cook County's court-approved program is Focus on Children, required of 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, sending a copy of the court order. Program details are at the Family Court Services parent education page.

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

Parenting plans. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, each parent files a proposed parenting plan within 120 days after service or filing. The plan addresses significant decision-making under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/602.7. If a schedule needs to be set before the case ends, 750 ILCS 5/603.5 allows a temporary allocation; where a child is seriously endangered, 750 ILCS 5/603.10 governs restriction of parental responsibilities. Moving a child more than 25 miles from a Cook County home is a relocation under 750 ILCS 5/609.2 and requires notice and, if contested, court approval.

Money. Support and property issues run on the financial record: child support under the income shares formula in 750 ILCS 5/505, maintenance including the guideline calculation under 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1), and division of assets under 750 ILCS 5/503. Temporary relief — support during the case, or exclusive possession of the marital residence under 750 ILCS 5/501(c-2) — is available early. After judgment, 750 ILCS 5/510 governs modification of support and of allocation judgments. Begin gathering pay records, tax returns, account statements, and retirement statements now; disclosure drives every one of these numbers.

Local help near Glenview

If you are in danger. The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is (877) 863-6338. Closer to Glenview, YWCA Evanston/North Shore operates a hotline at (877) 718-1868 and legal advocacy at (847) 470-5052; see their survivor services page. Orders of protection are available in Cook County; the remedies a judge can order are listed at 750 ILCS 60/214, and 750 ILCS 60/217 allows an emergency order without prior notice to the other party. The Skokie Courthouse hears divorce-related orders of protection.

If cost is the obstacle. Legal Aid Chicago can be reached at (312) 341-1070. The CARPLS legal aid hotline is (312) 738-9200 and handles brief advice by phone.

Family Court Services. Located at 69 W. Washington St., Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60602, (312) 603-1540. It provides parent education, mediation, evaluations, emergency intervention, and children's support groups. More 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, (312) 621-4394. The practice 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, spyware and account intrusions. He holds cybersecurity credentials (CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC, EC-Council CEH).

How to start. Prospects begin with a short online form. The office runs a conflict check and calls back, and you can book a 15-minute screening call online. Before that call, it helps to write down the date of marriage, where each of you lives now, the children's ages, whether any case or order is already on file, and whether you expect a dispute about parenting, money, or both.

Because Glenview cases can proceed at Skokie or at the Daley Center, one early conversation is about which filing location fits your schedule, the other party's location, and how the case is likely to be litigated.