In the United States, there are many different divorce options available to you if you and your spouse decide you can no longer make it work. If you want to avoid a long, drawn-out process, you should contemplate filing for a summary divorce.

LGBT rights have been increasing within the past few years, but there is still a ways to go. According to a recent article published by the Chicago Phoenix, a conservative state lawmaker of Illinois is making an attempt to dismantle adoption protections for gay and lesbian couples in civil unions.A bill was introduced last month by Sen. Kirk Dillard that, if passed, would give child welfare agencies operated by religious institutions to deny adoption applications to couples in civil unions if they felt it would go against its “sincerely held religious beliefs.”Dillard’s bill is a …

Many women start to plan their weddings at an early age, and they are scouting for prospective husbands by their teenage years. Many people are groomed to believe that marriage is as good as it gets. However, a recent story published by The Age suggests that we may need to reevaluate what is most important in life.Traditionally, the husband would assume the role as the provider and the wife would be the caretaker. However, in today’s society, both men and women have expanded these roles. As a matter of fact, it is almost frowned upon for a wife to sit at home not making a contribution to …

A mother recently filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleging that she and her newborn baby were victims of medical malpractice. She filed the case of Dec. 20, 2012 against the university of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) and two doctors for causing them to suffer injuries from a mistake made during her Cesarean section.In 2004, the Patient Safety Authority in Harrisburg, Penn. stated that at least 20 facilities reported incidents similar to fetal lacerations linked to C-sections. Approximately 70% of those lacerations were to the infants’ ear, head and face. 20% were below…

At Shanghai’s Zhabei District marriage registration center, officials divorced a record of 53 couples in one day, about one every five minutes, as couples rushed to divorce to avoid tougher tax laws on home sales.There were similar scenes also in Wuhan, Nanjing and Ningbo as couples opted for uncontested divorces, which would allow them to split their properties without having to pay capital gains tax up to 20 percent.Recently, Beijing stated that it wanted local governments to be tougher in implementing rules to curb property speculation, taxes on gains from selling second homes have been …

Let’s face it: divorce is ugly, tiring, and sad. Growing apart from someone you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with can be overwhelming—especially in the first few months after the divorce occurs. Luckily, Dr. Phil has come up with a few words of wisdom, both to deal with the grief after the divorce, and how to start living your life to the fullest.

Games are an integral part of learning, team-building and healthy competition for teens. Whether teens are always physically active or just during random team games at school functions, it is a great way to be healthy and have fun. Unfortunately, a simple team-building game going on for years at a California high school ended badly for two teens.Spirit Week happens across the nation at high schools promoting school spirit and community. At South El Month High school on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, teens were playing a game of tug-of-war. According to Superintendent Nick J. …

A Crestwood firefighter took the wheel after taking prescription medication. CBS Chicago reports that there was a fatal accident caused by the firefighter.Patrick Bruce was driving his Lincoln Navigator in a reckless fashion according to witnesses. He was reportedly driving 60 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone. He was also weaving in and out of traffic. When nearing the intersection of 167th Street and Lockwood Avenue, he slammed into a Hummer in front of him and then continued on into the intersection where he collided with an Oldsmobile that was driven by Anasis Knox. The driver of…

A recent Northern Illinois University graduate and two St. Charles East High School seniors sued the Kane County Cougars and a catering company. The students argue that they were negligent in their response to a severe storm that crossed through the Geneva Stadium in August 2012.The lawsuits filed in Kane County state that sisters Mary and Abigail Gaffney along with Erin Gautille were injured by flying debris as a result of the storm during an event of the team’s stadium on Aug. 4.Their attorney argued that the team and catering company both should have known that the approaching storm …

Joakim Noah, who plays center for the Chicago Bulls, has been battling plantar fasciitis for many years. A few years ago, his injury made headlines when he sat out 10 games during the playoffs. And although he’s been playing steadily since, NBC Chicago reports in this article that his injury is back and causing problems.Noah has been a game-time decision for the past few games, and is contemplating limiting his participation in the All-Star Game. Although Noah wants to participate, he knows he has to look at how it could affect the rest of his season with the Bulls. Noah states “I also …

Dhirajlal Ratanpara, of Hanover Park, was remembered fondly at the Daily Herald Printing Center in Schaumburg where he worked since 2010 after emigrating from India via England.  Nicknamed DH by his co-workers, he worked tirelessly and moved between 200,000 to 300,000 lbs. of paper each day.  His manager commented that he was so “happy-go-lucky” that no one knew he had such a grueling job.The 57 year old was traveling home from work on the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway late on November 12 of 2012.  Slick road conditions from the first wintery mix of the season caused him to get into a …

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, 33 year old Andrew Jones is being held on a $500,000.00 bond in a drunk driving crash that killed his girlfriend earlier this week. No one else was seriously injured in the accident.It is reported that Chantelle Jones was just 26 years of age at the time of the accident. She was riding in the front seat of the Saturn that was being driven by her boyfriend. While it was not made clear whether or not Jones was also under the influence, it was apparent to first responders that Andrew Jones had been drinking. At some point, Jones was traveling at a …

Looking into a city’s cost of living is a normal thing to do when considering where to live. From housing to grocery items, we want to find the best place to live at a reasonable cost. But have you ever looked at a city in terms of cost of divorce? According to Huffington Post, the top nine cities in the United States are rated first by how much an hour it costs to retain an attorney and then other details that make it a city you should probably think twice about divorcing in.At number nine, Dallas has a going rate of $291/hour but filing fees in of themselves are so high that the Supreme …

You buy one of the world’s fastest cars for a few good reasons: speed, class, style and safety. Safety? Yes, because if you are going to go that fast, you need to be safe. You trust the safety data sheet of the vehicle you just purchased and carry on in absolute faith.The Chrysler Viper is just one of those cars. However, 3,600 Vipers are being recalled for defective air bags. Vehicles manufactured from November 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004, have air bags that will deploy unexpectedly in transition. There is a component in the bag that may fail and cause this. This exact same problem can …

At the end of January, a 77-year old school bus driver hit several different vehicles after she suffered from a medical condition while driving, according to a Chicago Tribune article. Elaine C. Delaney, the driver, lost control of the bus after suffering from an unspecified medical issue. Around 2:30 pm, the bus went into oncoming traffic along Oakton Street. No students were on the bus at the time.Delaney was charged for several different traffic violations, including three counts for driving in the wrong lane, disobeying traffic control signals and driving too fast for conditions, …

The Sesame Workshop on sesamestreet.org offers online tool kits for topics such as starting school, financial difficulties, and natural disasters. At the beginning of this year, it added another to its repertoire: divorce.This tool kit, which was developed with the aid of educators, clinical psychologists, and other divorce experts, offers parents advice on how to handle the topic with their 2- to 8-year-old children. The kit includes programs for the children, such as a story about Niko, who splits his time between his mother’s and father’s houses, and songs to help children identify …

Marriage is a lot of give and take. Many times one feels like they are giving more than they are receiving. As much as it can happen on a regular basis, some relationships are so warped on the giving and taking scale, that it can demise the marriage as a wholeWhen partners stop being partners, problems will arise. Issues can range from irresponsibility, immaturity, and trust issues to selfishness. When someone feels they are the center of the relationship rather than the two being equal, it causes pain. Worse yet, if there is domestic abuse, the one half of the couple is in danger as long as …

Certain marriages have their beginning with a drink at a bar and casual conversation.  Dates begin and end sometimes with a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage.  As people grow together in a marriage, sometimes one spouse decides to drink a lot more than the other.  Now a study has linked incompatible drinking as a contributing factor of divorce.A group of researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health collected data from over 200,000 Norwegian couples.  They reviewed the affects on marriage when one spouse drank more than the other spouse.They found that spouses who …

Cheating can destroy the foundations of marriage which is built on trust and love.  As such, infidelity is a common cause of for divorce.  It can also be grounds for divorce when citing fault as a reason for dissolution in Illinois.

Channel 5 NBC Chicago recently reported a very sad story that led to a very substantial wrongful death suit being filed against an area nursing home. The death of Genevieve Klimczak took place last year but the wounds are still fresh to her grieving family.Many people would think that living to the ripe age of 91 years is a great achievement and evidence of a full and happy life. However, even at the age of 91, the death of Genevieve Klimczak was both untimely and premature.Klimczak was a resident of the McHenry Villa retirement community and had been there for several years. She suffered …