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.
The paperwork was filed quietly, but the narrative behind it reads like the slow unraveling of a once tightly woven life. On April 29, 2025, in the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Michael A. Banghart petitioned to dissolve his 25-year marriage to Leslie I. Banghart. Both are longtime residents of Oak Park, Illinois. In the petition, submitted by attorney James T. Keleher of Conniff & Keleher, LLC, Michael cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the breakdown—differences that, over time, made reconciliation not only improbable but inadvisable.
The Bangharts married in Chicago on March 11, 2000. Together they raised two children: a son now 21 and a daughter who recently turned 18. Both are considered emancipated, and the petition confirms no ongoing custody disputes or support orders exist in any other jurisdiction.
Michael’s filing draws a quiet line between marital and non-marital property and notes that both parties are self-supporting, neither requesting maintenance from the other. Yet beneath the legalese is a shared history still to be disentangled—marital property accumulated, debts unresolved, routines disrupted.
There’s a formality in Michael’s request: he asks the court not only to divide their assets equitably, but also to bar either party from future maintenance. The gesture, perhaps, of a man determined to close the chapter cleanly. What remains is the procedural journey toward a court-issued judgment, concluding what began a quarter-century ago with vows and, presumably, the best of intentions.
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