Disclaimer: All facts gleaned from the filings stated hereafter are only as truthful as the petitioner. The tone of this article expresses a style of writing historically employed by America’s greatest writers and, as such, is for opinion purposes only. No intentional harm is due. Do not read if the topic of divorce (even your own) causes you emotional distress. Continue at your own risk.
They were married in winter, in Lemont—a ceremony that promised permanence but quietly unraveled across months that no longer brought warmth. On July 24, 2025, Russell Steiger filed for divorce from Leanne Ziebell in Cook County, citing irreconcilable differences and the quiet erosion of a shared life once full of intention.
Russell, 40, a lecturer living in Lemont, filed the petition through his attorney, Katherine Chyna of Buchanan Law Group. He and Leanne, 31, who now resides in Racine, Wisconsin, have been separated for over six months. Their marriage, which began on December 12, 2021, lasted fewer than four years.
There were no children. No pregnancies. No legal complexities that might bind them beyond the paperwork and property. What remains is the parsing of marital assets, the disentangling of shared debt, and the mutual agreement that neither party will seek spousal maintenance. Both, the petition states, are “able-bodied”—able to stand on their own.
Russell asserts that the union has suffered an “irretrievable breakdown” and that attempts at repair have failed. The petition is devoid of emotional excess, written in the calm tone of someone who has already made peace with loss. Still, the filing carries weight: a document meant to formalize a private unraveling that had already occurred.
No hearing date has been set. But a door has been closed.
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