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Illinois Dad Pays Tuition to Avoid Six-Month Incarceration
Press release: A father of four complied with a judge's orders to pay his eldest daughter's college tuition in order to avoid being jailed for six months.
Worse-Than-Usual Day in Family Court
Cafe member Nicole Franke's husband was ordered to pay nearly $8,000 a year for his adult daughter -- despite his hefty child support payments and ongoing medical expenses for his sick baby. Find out more in this editorial by the Cafe's co-founder and co-owner.
Run a Mile With a Column Inch
Want to write a letter to your local paper but you're not sure how to go about it? This article covers the hows and whys of writing letters to the editor.
Write an Effective Letter
Want to help the the Frankes? Join us as we write letters to elected officials and newspaper editors. This article contains tips and suggestions for making sure your letter gets noticed, and makes a difference.
Sample Elected Official Letter
Want to say something to your senator, representative, mayor, or governor on behalf of the Franke family, but not sure what to say or how to say it? See a sample letter here.
by Mary Kuris
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Mary Kuris
SecondWivesCafe.Com
+1 916 359 6543
fax +1 801 749 8940
mary@secondwivescafe.com
http://secondwivescafe.com
McHENRY COUNTY, Ill., JANUARY 24, 2004 – Several members of the Second Wives Cafe braved sub-freezing temperatures to attend a candlelight vigil this week showing support for Michael Franke, a Lake-in-the-Hills father of four who has been threatened with jail if he does not comply with a judge’s orders to pay his eldest daughter’s college tuition.
The vigil was held Thursday evening on the Square in Woodstock, IL, the location of the McHenry County Courthouse. Heavily-bundled Second Wives Cafe members stood in the 2° cold, holding candles and hand-lettered signs in support of Franke and his family.
"I was so surprised," Franke's wife Nicole said of the turnout. "It was heartwarming to see these ladies come out and to get the support we're getting from such a great group."
"It was pretty darn cold, but everyone there warmed me up with their support of Michael and Nicole," Deb McLeod-Morris said after the vigil.
Franke avoided incarceration Friday by paying his former wife nearly $4,000 Friday for the tuition expenses of their 18-year-old daughter. Judge Joseph P. Condon had ordered Franke to pay the tuition or face six months of jail on a work release.
Franke told reporters at the McHenry County Courthouse yesterday that he'd funded the payment with a credit card advance, loans from his family and friends, and his entire paycheck for the next two weeks, rather than be jailed. "I had no real choice," he said. "My wife and infant son rely on me to provide their basic needs."
Franke and his former wife, who divorced in 1999, agreed at the time that "the amount and extent of contribution on the part of each party for vocational, college and/or university expenses of said minor children will be dependent upon the financial ability of that party at the time" [Franke v. Franke]. Franke’s former wife earns a comparable salary and holds savings in excess of the amount Franke has been ordered to pay.
In addition to paying more than $20,000 per year in child support payments to his former wife for the care of his children, and having never been in arrears, Franke has a young son with his second wife who suffers from RRP. The ailment is a recurrent benign tumor involving the larynx and vocal cords. Monthly surgery is necessary for the child to maintain an unobstructed airway and normal voice development. The surgeries and routine care of this disease costs Franke approximately $500 per month.
McHenry County Circuit Court Associate Judge Joseph P. Condon told Franke this week that the special needs of his young son were of no concern to him, and that Franke’s current wife would have to deal with the ramifications of losing 100% of her husband’s income. Condon added that the children of Franke’s first marriage were a priority over Franke’s ill one-year-old son. Franke’s children also include a 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.
"I think Judge Condon's ruling is morally wrong," said Cafe member Jenny Hughey of Lake-in-the-Hills. "To say he didn't care about Kent and his medical care or his food is horrible. I had to go and show my support any way I could."
Courts in Pennsylvania have ruled that forcing divorced parents to pay for their children’s college expenses is unconstitutional, citing the fact that parents from intact families cannot be legally compelled to provide the same assistance, while New Hampshire's state legislature is currently in the process of passing a law which would prevent divorced parents from being held liable for post-high school education expenses.
"Parents in intact families can decide how or if they're going to pay for college," Hughey said. "To be made to pay for college just because you're divorced -- where does it stop? I think we're going down a slippery slope."
The Second Wives Cafe is an online support website for second wives and stepmothers. It was founded in 2001 and has nearly 1,900 members.
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