Illinois: Marriage license tax targets domestic violence
Divorce and domestic violence are probably the last things on the minds of loving couples when they buy marriage licenses.
But statistics suggest they shouldn’t be, considering that half of all marriages end in divorce and about a quarter of women will become victims of abuse inside the home at some point in their lives.
Beginning Monday, counties across Illinois will impose a $5 fee on the cost of marriage licenses to pay for legal counseling and services aimed at the state’s growing number of domestic violence cases . . .