In re Marriage of Duggan

              No. 2--06--0061 Filed: 10-16-07
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IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
SECOND DISTRICT
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In re MARRIAGE OF ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
DARRELL E. DUGGAN, ) of Carroll County.
)
Petitioner-Appellant, ))
and ) No. 01--D--67
)
TAMARA DUGGAN, ) Honorable
) Val Gunnarsson,
Respondent-Appellee. ) Judge, Presiding.
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JUSTICE GILLERAN JOHNSON delivered the opinion of the court:
The trial court entered a final judgment on respondent Tamara Duggan's postdissolution
petition to increase child support, without making a finding under Supreme Court Rule 304(a) (210
Ill. 2d R. 304(a)). The petitioner, Darrell Duggan, appealed. However, when he appealed, his own
postdissolution petition regarding visitation was pending. We are thus required to examine whether
we have jurisdiction over this appeal. Although we conclude that we do, our conclusion as to the
basis for our jurisdiction requires some explanation before we proceed to the merits of the appeal.
Background
On January 17, 2002, the trial court dissolved the parties' marriage. The dissolution judgment
included an agreement that Darrell would pay child support of $120 per week. In August 2005,
Tamara petitioned to increase child support to reflect both a change in the statutory support
guidelines for two children (compare 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(1) (West 2004) with 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(1)