Illinois Family Law Study Committee Recommendations

In 2008, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, named Katz & Stefani principal P. André Katz as chairman of the Illinois Family Law Study Committee. Over the course of several years, that committee – a mix of lawmakers, matrimonial attorneys, judges, and child advocacy professionals – crafted a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s existing Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

Before any new legislation was written, the committee conducted several hearings and examined extensive amounts of research with attorneys, accountants, judges, professors, psychiatrists, and other experts.

The committee’s work culminated in a draft piece of House legislation in May 2012, House Bill 6192. While HB6192 never became law, it provided the public with a chance to examine and provide feedback on the proposed changes.

This past January, members of the Family Law Study Committee provided a memo to lawmakers that outlined their requested changes in their proposal so that a new bill could be written for the new legislative session. That memo is available here.

House Bill 1452, sponsored by Rep. Kelly Burke, D-Evergreen Park, includes the committee’s proposals. Read that bill here.