A cure that’s worse than the disease is Illinois’ Deadbeats Don’t Drive Act of 1996, which allows for the suspension or revocation of driver’s licenses for parents – almost entirely fathers – who fall behind in paying child support.

1. Grace Walker

2. Introduction
By Jeffery M. Leving
www.DadsRights.com
A cure that’s worse than the disease is Illinois’ Deadbeats Don’t Drive Act of 1996,
which allows for the suspension or revocation of driver’s licenses for parents – almost
entirely fathers – who fall behind in paying child support.
I attended an event at Loretto Hospital in Chicago, at which agents of the Illinois
Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Division of Child Support Services,
offered information on getting licenses restored – but not until after we heard the
testimony of many individuals affected by loss of their license.

3. Brave men stepped to the microphone in the hospital’s sixth-floor auditorium to
tell how they were harmed by the law: One man was served with a paternity
action while he was away on military duty, and by the time he returned, he was
stuck paying child support for a child that was not his. Another man was a truck
driver who lost his license, got a warehouse job in the suburbs for $15 an hour (a
significant pay cut, making it harder to pay child support), drove to this job
without a license, got stopped by the cops and thrown in jail, consequently
losing his job and leaving him unable to pay any child support.
Several men stated that even though their license was suspended or revoked,
they’re driving anyway – without insurance – because they have to.

4. Other men struggling to make a living said they support their children, to the
tune of hundreds a month, by paying school fees and medical bills, and paying
for clothes, books and sports equipment – but since these are not direct cash
payments to their child’s mother, they don’t “count” as child support, and license
loss ensues, along with the threat of jail time.
Fathers (and non-fathers saddled with paternity for children that are not theirs)
recounted a litany of injustice and woe, from child support orders that remain
unchanged even when men lose their jobs or have their hours cut back, to
mothers who won’t let fathers see their children. These stories were all similar to
the stories of the men I have represented over four decades practicing family law
and advocating for fathers, who are struggling for fair treatment in court and our
administrative law systems.

5. Nearly 100 men were in attendance at 9 a.m. on a Saturday, and I personally met
many of them. On the West Side of Chicago, they are not wealthy: They are
blue-collar men trying provide for their families, and complex bureaucratic
obstacles are placed in their way.
I want our politicians and the public to consider two questions: Does
suspending licenses help child support collection, or does it reduce collection,
burden taxpayers and cause unsafe conditions on our roads? And if this is such a
significant problem in this one community, can you imagine what a travesty this
is statewide?

6. We have a new law in Illinois – sponsored by State Rep. LaShawn K. Ford and
signed by the governor in 2019 – called the Stay of Driver's License Suspension
for Child Support Arrearage Law. This measure gives child support payers whose
license is about to be suspended the right to petition the court or child support
administrative body for an order to stay the suspension for up to 12 months. This
will help a lot of struggling fathers and children, but it is not the full solution
we’re looking for.
What we really want is to get rid of driver’s license suspension and revocation for
child support delinquency, which has nothing to do with driving. The state also
will suspend licenses for individuals who owe debts for parking tickets and late
fees, and even for defaulting on student loans – also bad policy, especially in
low-income communities.

7. I can't begin to tell you how counterproductive taking away a driver's license is.
These guys have to drive to work – especially in rural parts of our state that lack
the public transportation we have in the Chicago area. Sometimes their job
requires a driver's license because they're driving a truck or a bus or an Uber car
or a taxi. Sometimes they're driving the company vehicle to the job site.
Whatever it is they're doing, trying to make a living, trying to get current on
child support, having the state take away their driver's license does not help. I
shake my head so often at the laws we pass in this country. We can’t be our own
worst enemy.

8. Rep. Ford did an outstanding job getting the 12-month stay passed in a busy
legislative session. I urge our lawmakers next year to pass legislation that ends
driver’s license suspension and revocation for matters that are unrelated to
driving. It’ll make our roads safer, and it’ll improve the lives of children and their
parents.
Jeffery M. Leving, president emeritus of the Fatherhood Educational Institute, is
president and founder of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd., and is an
advocate for the rights of fathers. He is the author of Fathers’ Rights and How to
be a Good Divorced Dad.