According to James's calculations, Tammy was on public aid for 161 weeks. The record does not contain a copy of the IDPA's response to the demand to admit facts or an order pertaining to the motion to strike. At the trial court's request, the parties submitted briefs on the issue of whether Tammy's assignment of her right to collect child support covered the interim period from June 1982 to July 1983 when she did not receive public aid. Ill. Rev. Stat. This appears to be an issue of first impression in Illinois, as our research has not revealed any case law directly addressing this question.
Statutory interpretation is a question of law.
Spear v. Board of Education of North Shore School District No. The fundamental rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the legislature's intent. The best way of doing so, and thus the first step in construing a statute, is to examine the language of the statute. 103 Ill. 2d at 277. If the language is clear, the court must give it effect without looking to extrinsic aids.