Waukegan Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where Waukegan cases are heard

Family cases for Waukegan residents are filed in the 19th Judicial Circuit and heard at the Lake County Courthouse & Administration Building, 18 N. County St., Waukegan, IL 60085. The main number is (847) 377-3600, and the building is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Family Division courtrooms are on the main level in C-101 through C-107 and on the fourth floor in C-401 and C-402. Parking is available in the City of Waukegan garage and in lots D, E and F. Check your notice or order for the courtroom before you leave the house; a case can sit on either level.

Venue is governed by 750 ILCS 5/104, which places the case in the county where either party resides. For a Waukegan resident, that is Lake County, and the case can proceed here even if your spouse has moved elsewhere. Before a judgment of dissolution is entered, 750 ILCS 5/401 requires 90 days of Illinois residency, or military presence in the state.

Building details and hours are published by the circuit at the 19th Circuit's courthouse page.

What the Lake County court requires of parents

Parenting education. Under 750 ILCS 5/404.1 and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924, parents in dissolution cases complete a court-approved parenting education program. Lake County uses the Family Parenting Program at the College of Lake County — the Children First 4-hour course. It applies to parents with minor children who have filed for dissolution and to parents in post-judgment parenting petitions. Take it in person at CLC Waukegan, Grayslake or Vernon Hills (Saturday mornings, Monday and Thursday evenings) or online. Cost is $60 per person in person and $100 online, with fee waivers for inability to pay. Register at (847) 543-2185; details are on the circuit's Family Parenting page. Sign up early rather than waiting to be ordered — it is one item you can finish on your own schedule.

Mediation. Local Court Rule 4-3.19 requires mediation where parenting issues are unresolved. It covers parenting time, decision-making and relocation disputes before a contested hearing, with court-approved family mediators from a roster published by the circuit. Exemptions exist for domestic violence, intimidation, substance abuse, child abuse, mental illness and cognitive impairment. If one applies to you, raise it before you are sent to mediation, not after. See the circuit's Family Mediation page. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 905 governs mediation programs in these cases.

The parenting plan clock. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, a parenting plan is due within 120 days after service or filing. Start drafting the weekly schedule, holidays and decision-making structure early. Decision-making is allocated under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and parenting time under 750 ILCS 5/602.7. If something cannot wait, 750 ILCS 5/603.5 allows temporary allocation, and 750 ILCS 5/603.10 allows restriction of parental responsibilities where a child is seriously endangered.

Money and 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 follows income shares under 750 ILCS 5/505. Support or exclusive possession of the marital residence while the case is pending comes from 750 ILCS 5/501, including 501(c-2). Later changes to support or to an allocation judgment run through 750 ILCS 5/510. If a move is possible, 750 ILCS 5/609.2 governs relocation; from Lake County, the threshold is a move of more than 25 miles, or 25 miles out of state.

Practically, start gathering documents now: pay records, tax returns, account statements, retirement and business records, and anything showing what was earned, spent or transferred.

Local help in Waukegan and Lake County

• Safety. A Safe Place operates a hotline at (800) 600-7233 and provides order-of-protection accompaniment at the Waukegan courthouse, so an advocate can go with you to 18 N. County St. More at asafeplaceforhelp.org. The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is (877) 863-6338. An order of protection can be entered without prior notice in an emergency under 750 ILCS 60/217; available remedies are listed at 750 ILCS 60/214.
• Legal aid. Prairie State Legal Services has a Waukegan office, reachable at (815) 965-2134 or at pslegal.org. If cost is the obstacle, call them before deciding to proceed with no representation at all.
• Parenting class registration. (847) 543-2185 for the College of Lake County Family Parenting Program, with a fee waiver available if you cannot pay.
• Court information. (847) 377-3600, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices at Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601, (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. That work is supported by cybersecurity credentials: CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC and EC-Council CEH.

Getting started is short. You fill out a brief online form. The office runs a conflict check and calls you back. You can also book a 15-minute screening call online to describe the situation and find out whether this is the right fit.

To make that call useful, have three things ready: roughly when you or your spouse began living in Waukegan or elsewhere in Illinois, whether children are involved and how old they are, and a rough list of the accounts, property and income on both sides. If there is a safety issue, or a device or account you think has been accessed without your permission, say so at the start.