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Meeting Minutes and More | Judges’ Exemptions Often Limit Impact of Divorce Rates on County Finances | News
This story appeared in an eight-page financial-themed feature, “Meeting Minutes & More,” a special section in the Friday print editions of the News-Gazette, reported and written by editor Jeff D’Alessio and designed by news editor Joel Leizer. Click here to subscribe for The News-Gazette.
It’s not a big source of income for the county coffers, but divorce filings help pay the bills.
During the first five months of 2024, 227 divorce petitions were filed in the Champaign County Circuit Clerk’s Office — 90 for couples with children, 137 without.
The filing fee for the petitioner is $306. The appearance filing fee for the respondent is $181.
But here’s the problem: Judges have, and often exercise, leeway to waive fees. So what could have been a whopping $69,462 for filing fees in Champaign County ended up being just $4,896. (The clerk received another $4,706 for the $181 fee, which also isn’t collected if the defendant doesn’t participate in the case.)
In 2023, Champaign County collected $17,019 in fees from 492 divorce filings.
McGrath
“As you can see, this is far from being a revenue generator,” the circuit secretary said. Susan McGrath it says.
Here’s a breakdown of the divorce rates charged in four other area counties:
— Douglas: It raised $20,352 from 52 dissolution cases in 2023 and $12,925 from 37 in 2024.
— Ford: Raised $7,861 in 21 dissolution cases granted in 2023 and $1,006 in three in 2024.
— Iroquois: Raised $16,952 from 72 dissolution cases in 2023, $8,883.50 from 34 in 2024.
— Piatt: It raised $15,431 from 33 dissolution cases in 2023 and $8,702 from 22 in 2024.