Chicago father taken into custody for late support
A Chicago man was taken into custody on allegations that he owes more than half a million dollars in child support. The 52-year-old man had a child support warrant issued for his arrest in 2008, but the father of three managed to avoid detection by law enforcement for more than five years. The Cook County Sheriff's Office says that the man's past-due support payments now total $555,876.
The sheriff's office recently got a tip that the father was residing in a home in the 4300 block of North Clarendon Avenue in Uptown. On March 21, police went to the house where the man was suspected to be and took him into custody. The man was due to appear back in court at the Daley Center on April 3 after having posted a cash bond in the amount of $23,462.24.
A non-custodial parent's failure to meet child support obligations is not an unheard-of occurrence. The court system may not treat the parent's failure to pay child support as a top priority, and even if the police do detain the parent, this will not necessarily help resolve the issue of back child support.
Family law attorneys may help a custodial parent enforce a child support order by filling out court documents to request a judgment lien on the other parent's salary. If a judge rules in favor of the lien, the employer of the non-custodial parent would need to comply with the court order enforcing the lien, which may entail garnishing the parent's wages on a regular basis.
Source: NBC Chicago, "Man Who Owes $550,000 in Child Support Arrested ", March 27, 2014
