Ex-wife of Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh sues for child support

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) owes more than $100,000 in child support and interest to his former wife, she alleges in a Cook County Circuit Court filing.

The dispute, set out in a court filing last December, remains unsettled. Walsh’s ex-wife says he is $117,437 behind in payments.

Walsh, a 49-year-old Republican, entered Congress in January, swept into office with help from “tea party” activists. He often appears on television demanding the country drastically cut its spending and pay its bills.

The child support claim was first reported today in the Chicago Sun-Times. Walsh denounced the Sun-Times story in a statement, calling it a “hit piece.”

He added: “These latest attacks against me are false and I will fight them in the appropriate venue.”

Walsh also used the statement to profess his love for his children. He was married for 17 years to Laura J. Walsh and they have two sons, ages 23 and 16, and a daughter, age 20.

The next court date in the case is Sept. 14, when a status report regarding settlement is scheduled, according to Tom Coladarci, a law clerk at the firm representing Laura Walsh.

Walsh, who lives in McHenry and has remarried, won office in November even after problems surfaced with respect to his financial history. He had a condo in Evanston that he lost to foreclosure and state and federal tax liens, which ultimately were satisfied.

John Coladarci, who represents Laura Walsh, said Thursday that she lives in theChicago area and is a non-practicing attorney who works for Eli Lilly, the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical firm.

He said she would not be speaking to the press, but noted the money she was seeking from Walsh was important to her.

“Laura needs the money,” Coladarci said. “She’s been scraping by pretty much on her own for years, trying to collect from Joe. It’s been very, very hard to raise three children on one income, as anyone who has done that knows. He hasn’t been particularly helpful in that aspect since 2005.”

The attorney said Walsh owes an additional $9,639 — on top of the child support and interest — which represents his 50 percent share of certain educational, extra-curricular, medical, dental and insurance expenses for the children.

He said, too, that Laura Walsh has asked to be reimbursed for her legal bills associated with the dispute. “We want to avoid litigation because it’s a very expensive process,” he added, “and it’s not in her interest to have a giant bill owed to us.”

Coladarci said he and Rep. Walsh’s lawyer were working cooperatively toward reaching a settlement and were interacting without the “destructive invective” that marks some divorce cases.

Already, some $2,135 is being taken every month from Walsh’s congressional paychecks so he may meet his ongoing child-support obligations, Coladarci said.

Rank-and-file members of Congress are paid $174,000 a year.

The lawyer took issue with Rep. Walsh’s statement. “In terms of what Laura is doing, it’s not a ‘hit piece’ at all. We’re not involved in any kind of politics or ‘hit piece.’”

Walsh’s lawyer, R. Steven Polachek of Barrington, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The child-support case is being heard in Cook County Circuit Court’s Domestic Relations Division.

Walsh represents the 8th Congressional District, which takes in the northwest Chicago suburbs. His narrow victory unseated a Democratic incumbent, Melissa Bean.

Because of redistricting, there are signs that Walsh is considering a challenge to a Republican colleague, Rep. Randy Hultgren of Winfield, in the 14th District

Walsh’s spokesman, Justin Roth, said this week that Walsh planned to seek re-election, but did not specify in which district.