Gambling Winnings Are Now Sources Of Child Support Payments

Gambling Winnings Are Now Sources Of Child Support Payments

IL State Sen. Darin La Hood understands that child support payments should be a sure thing and not a gamble. As a former child support prosecutor in Cook County, he witnessed on a daily basis the detrimental effects to a family when child support was late or not paid at all. He understands that every dollar coming into a family helps keep it afloat.

Sen. La Hood is the author of a pending bill in Illinois that will make it mandatory for gambling winnings to be garnished at casinos and race tracks across the state of Illinois. The States of West Virginia and Colorado are also following in the steps of Illinois and making it a requirement that winnings be subject to garnishment to pay out standing child support warrants. It is estimated that within the 1st year of this program that over $1 million dollars in outstanding support can be put back in the pockets of deserving families in the State of Illinois alone. This is just a small portion of what is owed in outstanding support to families but a huge step in providing Healthcare and Family Service another tool to collect support from.

Other states, like New Jersey already garnish from gambling winnings. You may recall the Lotto winner who had over $30k taken from their winnings just a few months ago. The program can and does work and is something that hopefully all states will take a look at.