Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships; issues arising during marriage, including spousal abuse, legitimacy, adoption, surrogacy, child abuse, and child abduction; the termination of the relationship and ancillary matters including divorce, annulment, property settlements, alimony, and parental responsibility orders (in the United States, child custody and visitation, child support and alimony awards).
Mendota is a city located in north-central Illinois in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The city has 7,272 residents, and is the fifth largest city in LaSalle County. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor is David W. Boelk, an independent elected to a four year term in April 2005. He was re-elected in April 2009. Mendota is served by U. S interstate 39, U.S. Route 34, U.S. Route 52, and by many state highways including Illinois Route 251. There is also daily train service by Amtrak at the Mendota Amtrak station to Chicago and also to points west on the Illinois Zephyr, Carl Sandburg, and Southwest Chief routes. Helen E. Hokinson, cartoonist for The New Yorker from 1925 until her death in 1949, was born and raised in Mendota. Former Minnesota Vikings running back Bill Brown was also born and raised in Mendota. Wartburg College (now located in Waverly, Iowa) was located in Mendota from 1875 to 1885.