Mother of One

by Melissa
(Chicago, Lllinois)

This is a very exhausting journey for me. I have been trying to collect child support forever. My son’s father became the biggest loser after our split 4 years ago. He has been battling drugs and being carried by his mother. He pays nothing, from his cell phone bill to his underwear’s. Illinois has very weak child support laws. I tell them over and over again that my son’s father was making a payment before the 90-day mark, so he would not face consequences and they did nothing about it. I receive one payment every 90 days and according to Illinois that’s o.k. As long as Jimmy! dose not go pass that time because God forbid they suspend his license or his passport that he can careless about. Illinois sucks. On top of all that he already owes me $10,000 in child support but I guess that’s all right to Illinois. I have been asking the child support dept. to take him to court and they tell me 'NO! They also told me that it could back fire in my face if I do so. They said he can walk into a court room and give a sob story why he is unemployed and lower his payments while us mothers HAVE to do whatever it takes to make sure our kids have the things they need including food. I went to temp agencies and I have been searching for a job and trying to find a school to attend while the loser is at his mom’s house being carried through life. What type of system do we live in? Fathers can get away with anything but mothers have no choice.