Next Steps for Domestic Relations

Over the last five years, Chicago Appleseed has been working closely with Grace Dickler, the Presiding Judge of the Cook County Domestic Relations Division. Together, we have collaborated to remake the domestic relations courts into a single, modern court that not only serves the needs families usin...
September 20, 2017

Changes in the Cook County Domestic Relations Courts

The Cook County court recently took bold steps to modernize the Domestic Relations Division and improve the system for all families moving through the divorce, paternity and child support process. Consolidation of the divorce court and parentage court went into effect on February 6, 2017 and is the...
June 20, 2017

Cook County Domestic Relations Court Changes

Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice has been working with a task force for the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division, Grace Dickler, for several years to improve the court. The work has been very rewarding and plans for a pilot courtroom based upon our work have been approved for 2016. I...
December 14, 2015

Innovations in Family Courts

The Domestic Relations Division of the Cook County Court is carefully examining ways to make some significant changes which will improve the level of service for everyone needing to establish parentage of a child, get child support for a child or come to a shared agreement for parenting.  Chicago Ap...
June 11, 2014

Reforming the Cook County Parentage Court

Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice had the privilege of providing research and analysis to a task force examining conditions for litigants and attorneys in the Parentage section of Domestic Relations Division of the Cook County Circuit Court. Our full report is now available. Cook County takes an u...
January 20, 2014