Download and complete Divorce, Child Support, and Maintenance forms from the Illinois Office of the Courts. First, the parties may create a written agreement, which they sign.Arbitration can only happen in Illinois if there was a written contract agreeing to arbitration. Arbitration is a more expedient alternative to litigation, in which both parties and their lawyers appear in front of an arbitrator outside of a courtroom. The Law Division Mandatory Arbitration program is an alternative dispute resolution process for civil suits seeking money damages. You can file for divorce in the county in which you reside or the county in which your spouse resides. To get a divorce, one spouse must have lived in Illinois for at least 90 days. You do not need to file for divorce where you got married. Mediation is a process in which a neutral mediator assists the parties facing a divorce or parentage case in trying to reach agreement on disputed issues. In arbitration, you and your spouse agree that you'll hire a private judge, called an arbitrator, to resolve the disputes in your divorce.