Suing a City, County or the State in Illinois: The Tort Immunity Act

A crumbling sidewalk, a pothole, a city garbage truck, a CTA bus, a squad car. When the thing that hurt you belongs to the government, Illinois law changes the rules of the claim. The deadline is shorter, some kinds of claims are barred outright, and a claim against the State of Illinois does not go to an ordinary courthouse at all.

Those rules come mainly from the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, usually called the Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10). This guide explains who the Act covers, how long you have to act, which immunities come up most often after falls and crashes, and what a government defendant can and cannot be made to pay.

Can You Sue a City, County or the State in Illinois?

Yes, you can usually sue a city, county or other Illinois local government for an injury caused by its negligence, but you must file within one year, and the Tort Immunity Act gives the government defenses a private defendant does not have. The most important is notice: for a dangerous condition on public property, you must show the government knew about it, or should have found it, in time to fix it. Claims against the Chicago Transit Authority also carry a one-year deadline. Claims against the State of Illinois and its agencies go to the Illinois Court of Claims, have a two-year filing limit, and require written notice within one year unless the claim is filed within that year. Local governments cannot be made to pay punitive damages, and no government defendant, including the State, pays prejudgment interest.

Who the Tort Immunity Act Covers

The Act protects “local public entities” and their employees. Section 1-206 defines a local public entity broadly: a county, township, municipality, school district, community college district, forest preserve district, park district, fire protection district, sanitary district and “all other local governmental bodies,” along with intergovernmental agencies and certain not-for-profit corporations formed to conduct public business.

Three limits on that definition matter in practice:

• The State is not a local public entity. Section 1-206 expressly excludes the State and its departments, boards, commissions and universities. Claims against them follow the Court of Claims Act instead, covered below.
• Employees are covered, independent contractors are not. Section 1-202 defines an employee to include officers, board members, agents and volunteers, “but does not include an independent contractor.” A private paving company or a contractor running a work zone for the city does not get the Act’s one-year deadline or its immunities.
• The government answers for its employees. Section 9-102 directs a local public entity to pay any tort judgment or settlement for compensatory damages for which it, or an employee acting within the scope of employment, is liable. But under Section 2-109, the entity is not liable for an employee’s act if the employee is not liable, so an immunity that protects the employee usually protects the entity too.

How Long You Have to File

Cities, counties and other local governments: one year

Section 8-101(a) says no civil action may be commenced against a local public entity or any of its employees for any injury “unless it is commenced within one year from the date that the injury was received or the cause of action accrued.” That is half the two years allowed against a private driver, store or landlord under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, and it is the deadline most often missed in these cases.

Many people expect to send the city a formal notice of claim first. Illinois once required one, but the notice section of the Act, 745 ILCS 10/8-102, was repealed by Public Act 84-1431. Today the one-year filing deadline is the rule that controls. Filing a complaint with a city department or calling 311 is useful evidence, but it does not stop the clock.

The CTA: one year

The Chicago Transit Authority has its own limitation in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act. Under 70 ILCS 3605/41, no civil action “for any injury to his person” may be commenced against the Authority “unless it is commenced within one year from the date the cause of action accrued.” That applies whether you were a passenger on a bus or train, a driver the bus hit, or a pedestrian in its path.

The State of Illinois: the Court of Claims

The State cannot be sued in an ordinary circuit court. The State Lawsuit Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 5/1, says the State “shall not be made a defendant or party in any court” except as the Court of Claims Act and a few other laws allow. Under 705 ILCS 505/8(d), the Illinois Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction over claims against the State “for damages in cases sounding in tort, if a like cause of action would lie against a private person.” That includes injuries involving state highways maintained by IDOT, state-owned vehicles, state parks and state university property.

Two deadlines apply to a personal injury claim against the State:

• Notice within one year. Section 22-1 requires written notice, filed with both the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Court of Claims, within one year of the injury. It must give the injured person’s name and residence, the date and approximate hour of the accident, where it happened, a brief description of how it happened, and the name and address of any attending physician. The notice is not required if the claim itself is filed within one year, and Section 22-2 says a claim filed without a required notice “shall be dismissed.”
• Claim within two years. Under Section 22(h), the claim must be filed within two years after it accrues, with extra time for minors and people under a legal disability. Section 22(j) makes these time limits “binding and jurisdictional.”

Public hospitals and clinics: a different clock

Section 8-101(b) sets a separate rule for injuries “arising out of patient care” at a public hospital or clinic run by a local public entity. The claim must be brought within two years after the patient knew, or reasonably should have known, of the injury, and never more than four years after the act or omission that caused it.

Where the Claim Goes and What Changes

Illinois injury claims by type of defendant

Who is responsible	Where the claim is filed	Deadline	What is different
Private driver, business or landlord	Circuit court	2 years (735 ILCS 5/13-202)	Ordinary negligence rules; 6% prejudgment interest can be added to a judgment (735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c))
City, village, county, township, park, school or forest preserve district	Circuit court	1 year (745 ILCS 10/8-101(a))	Tort Immunity Act defenses; no punitive damages (2-102); no prejudgment interest
Chicago Transit Authority	Circuit court	1 year (70 ILCS 3605/41)	Separate one-year limit in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act
State of Illinois, IDOT, state universities	Illinois Court of Claims	Notice within 1 year unless filed within 1 year; claim within 2 years (705 ILCS 505/22-1, 22(h))	Tort awards capped at $2,000,000, adjusted yearly for inflation, except State vehicle crashes (705 ILCS 505/8(d))
Public hospital or clinic, patient care	Circuit court	2 years from discovery, 4-year outer limit (745 ILCS 10/8-101(b))	Tort Immunity Act applies

The Immunities That Decide Most Cases

The Act lists dozens of immunities. A handful come up again and again after falls, pedestrian injuries and crashes.

Common Tort Immunity Act defenses and their limits

Situation	The rule	The limit or exception	Section
Pothole, broken sidewalk or other defect on public property	Duty of ordinary care to keep property reasonably safe	Liable only with actual or constructive notice in time to fix the defect	3-102
Snow, ice, rain or flooding on streets and sidewalks	No liability for the effect of weather conditions as such	Does not cover physical damage or deterioration caused by weather; the duty to maintain remains	3-105
Park, playground or other recreational property	No liability for the condition of the property	Liable for willful and wanton conduct	3-106
Police officer carrying out or enforcing a law	Employee not liable for acts in enforcing the law	Liable for willful and wanton conduct	2-202
Fire truck, ambulance or other vehicle answering an emergency call	No liability for negligent driving	Liable for willful or wanton conduct	5-106
Stop sign, signal or road marking never installed	No liability for failing to initially provide traffic control devices	Limited to the initial failure to provide them	3-104
Road or building design approved in advance	No liability for the approved plan or design	Liable if, once in use, the design creates a condition that is not reasonably safe	3-103

Potholes, sidewalks and other defects: the notice rule

Section 3-102(a) gives local governments a real duty: to exercise ordinary care to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition for people using it in a foreseeable way. The catch is proof. The entity is not liable “unless it is proven that it has actual or constructive notice” of the unsafe condition “in reasonably adequate time prior to an injury to have taken measures to remedy or protect against such condition.”

Actual notice means the government knew: a 311 complaint, an earlier injury report, a repair ticket that was never closed. Constructive notice means it should have known, usually because the defect was there long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it. Under Section 3-102(b), the entity can defeat constructive notice by showing that a reasonably adequate inspection system would not have found the defect, or that it ran such a system with due care and did not find it. That is why the government’s own inspection and complaint records are often the most important evidence in a sidewalk or pothole case, and why the open and obvious defense is usually raised alongside it.

Snow and ice

Section 3-105(a) says a local public entity is not liable for an injury “caused by the effect of weather conditions as such” on streets, highways, alleys, sidewalks and other public ways, including wind, rain, flood, hail, ice and snow. Two limits keep this from being a blanket defense. The immunity does not include “physical damage to or deterioration of” the sidewalk or street resulting from weather, such as a slab heaved by frost. And Section 3-105(c) keeps the entity’s ordinary duty to maintain its property under Section 3-102.

Parks, playgrounds and recreational property

Under Section 3-106, a local public entity is not liable for an injury based on the condition of property “intended or permitted to be used for recreational purposes,” such as parks, playgrounds and enclosed recreational facilities, unless it is guilty of willful and wanton conduct that proximately caused the injury. Section 1-210 defines willful and wanton conduct as “a course of action which shows an actual or deliberate intention to cause harm or which, if not intentional, shows an utter indifference to or conscious disregard for the safety of others.”

Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances

Crashes with public vehicles are common, and the rules turn on what the driver was doing. Section 5-106 protects a local public entity and its employee from liability for “the negligent operation of a motor vehicle” while responding to an emergency call, including taking a person to a medical facility, but not for willful or wanton conduct. Section 2-202 separately protects a public employee acting “in the execution or enforcement of any law” unless the conduct was willful and wanton. Outside those situations, such as a public works truck or a city car on a routine errand, neither section applies, and the claim is judged on ordinary negligence, still within the one-year deadline. For how the officer’s report fits into a claim, see what the police report can and cannot do.

Traffic signs and road design

Section 3-104 says a local government is not liable for “the failure to initially provide” stop signs, signals, speed limit signs, road markings, barriers or other traffic control devices. Section 3-103 protects a plan or design for public property that was approved in advance, but the entity is liable if, “after the execution of such plan or design it appears from its use that it has created a condition that it is not reasonably safe.”

What You Can Recover From a Government Defendant

A successful claim against a local government, the CTA or the State pays the same core compensatory damages as any other injury claim: medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement. Three things are off the table or limited:

• No punitive damages. Section 2-102 says a local public entity “is not liable to pay punitive or exemplary damages.”
• No prejudgment interest. Illinois adds 6% prejudgment interest to many personal injury judgments, but 735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c) says “neither the State, a unit of local government, a school district, community college district, nor any other governmental entity is liable to pay prejudgment interest” in an action brought against it by the injured party.
• A cap on State tort awards. Under 705 ILCS 505/8(d), a Court of Claims award in a tort case “shall not exceed the sum of $2,000,000” for any claimant, adjusted annually for inflation. The cap does not apply to a case “arising out of the operation by a State employee of a vehicle owned, leased or controlled by the State.”

Your own share of fault still counts as it would in any Illinois case: damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you recover nothing if you are more than 50% at fault (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). See how Illinois fault law works for more.

What to Do in the First Weeks

1. Get medical care and keep the records. Treatment notes tie the injury to the fall or crash and document how serious it is.
2. Photograph the scene before it changes. A defect can be patched or replaced soon after someone is hurt. Photograph the pothole or sidewalk with something for scale, from several angles, and note the exact location.
3. Work out who owns the property or vehicle. A street can belong to the city, the county, a township or the State, and a building, parking lot or bus shelter can have a different owner than the street beside it. The answer decides the deadline and the court.
4. Report it in writing. A written report to the city or agency creates a record, but it is not a lawsuit and it does not extend the deadline.
5. Put the one-year date on your calendar. Count from the date of injury, and plan around the earliest deadline that could apply. If a contractor may also be responsible, the two-year rule for the contractor does not help against the government.
6. Talk to a lawyer early. Proving notice usually means getting the government’s complaint, inspection and repair records, and that takes time a one-year clock does not leave much of.

For the general deadlines that apply to private defendants, see our guide to the Illinois statute of limitations. For how property owners’ duties work more generally, see premises liability basics, and for crashes involving people on foot, our Illinois pedestrian accident laws guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to sue a city or county in Illinois?

One year. Under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a), a civil action against a local public entity or one of its employees must be commenced within one year from the date the injury was received or the cause of action accrued. That covers cities, villages, counties, townships, park districts, school districts, forest preserve districts and other local governmental bodies. Claims against a private driver or business usually have two years under 735 ILCS 5/13-202.

Do I have to send the city a notice of claim before I sue?

Not under the Tort Immunity Act as it reads today. The section that used to require a written notice to a local public entity, 745 ILCS 10/8-102, has been repealed, so the one-year deadline to file suit is the rule that controls. Claims against the State of Illinois are different: written notice must go to the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Court of Claims within one year unless the claim itself is filed within one year (705 ILCS 505/22-1).

How long do I have to file a claim after a CTA bus or train accident?

One year. The Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, 70 ILCS 3605/41, says no civil action for an injury to a person may be commenced against the Chicago Transit Authority unless it is commenced within one year from the date the cause of action accrued.

Can I sue the State of Illinois for an injury?

Not in an ordinary court. The State Lawsuit Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 5/1, bars making the State a defendant in any court except as other laws allow, and the Court of Claims Act, 705 ILCS 505/8(d), gives the Illinois Court of Claims exclusive jurisdiction over tort claims against the State. The claim must be filed within two years (705 ILCS 505/22(h)), with written notice to the Attorney General and the Court of Claims clerk within one year unless the claim is filed within one year (705 ILCS 505/22-1).

Is there a cap on what the State of Illinois will pay?

For most tort claims, yes. Under 705 ILCS 505/8(d), an award in a tort case may not exceed $2,000,000 for any claimant, and that limit is adjusted every year for inflation. The cap does not apply to a tort claim arising out of a State employee’s operation of a vehicle owned, leased or controlled by the State.

Can I sue the city for a pothole or a broken sidewalk in Illinois?

Often, yes, but you have to prove notice. Under 745 ILCS 10/3-102(a), a local public entity must use ordinary care to keep its property reasonably safe, but it is liable only if it had actual or constructive notice of the unsafe condition long enough before the injury to fix it or guard against it. Evidence such as prior complaints, repair requests and how long the defect existed usually decides the case. The road also has to belong to that entity; state highways are the State’s responsibility and go to the Court of Claims.

Is the city liable if I slip on snow or ice on a public sidewalk?

Usually not for the snow or ice itself. Under 745 ILCS 10/3-105(a), a local public entity is not liable for an injury caused by the effect of weather conditions as such on streets, sidewalks and other public ways. The immunity does not cover physical damage to or deterioration of the sidewalk or street resulting from weather, and the entity keeps its duty to maintain its property with ordinary care under Section 3-102.

What if I was hit by a police car, fire truck or ambulance?

It depends on what the driver was doing. Under 745 ILCS 10/5-106, a local public entity and its employee are not liable for negligently operating a vehicle while responding to an emergency call, but they are liable for willful and wanton conduct. A police officer enforcing the law is likewise liable only for willful and wanton conduct under Section 2-202. The Act defines willful and wanton conduct in Section 1-210 as an actual intention to cause harm or utter indifference to or conscious disregard for the safety of others.

Can I get punitive damages or prejudgment interest from a government defendant?

Neither is available from a local government, and prejudgment interest is not available from any government defendant, including the State. A local public entity is not liable to pay punitive or exemplary damages (745 ILCS 10/2-102), and neither the State, a unit of local government, a school district nor any other governmental entity is liable to pay prejudgment interest in a personal injury case brought against it (735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c)). Compensatory damages such as medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering remain available.

Does the one-year deadline apply to a private contractor working for the city?

Generally not. The Tort Immunity Act defines an employee in Section 1-202 to exclude an independent contractor, so a private company hired to repave a road or run a work zone does not get the Act’s one-year limit or its immunities. A claim against that contractor usually follows the ordinary two-year rule in 735 ILCS 5/13-202. Because a single injury can involve both a public entity and a contractor, the earlier deadline is the safe one to plan around.

Hurt on Public Property or by a Public Vehicle? Do Not Wait a Year

Claims against a city, county, the CTA or the State move on a shorter clock and turn on records the government controls. Our Chicago slip and fall lawyers handle falls on public sidewalks and in public buildings across the state, including in Waukegan, Champaign, Naperville and Elgin. If you were hit on a city street, see our Illinois pedestrian accident lawyers and Chicago pedestrian accident team. For CTA, Pace and school bus crashes, see our Chicago bus accident lawyers and Aurora bus accident lawyers, and for crashes with city vehicles, our Chicago car accident lawyers.

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Sources

• Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10: Sections 1-202 (employee), 1-206 (local public entity), 1-210 (willful and wanton conduct), 2-102 (punitive damages), 2-109, 2-202 (law enforcement), 3-102 (duty and notice), 3-103 (plan or design), 3-104 (traffic control devices), 3-105 (weather conditions), 3-106 (recreational property), 5-106 (emergency vehicles), 8-101 (limitation), 8-102 (repealed) and 9-102 (payment of judgments).
• Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, 70 ILCS 3605/41 (one-year limitation for CTA injury claims).
• Court of Claims Act, 705 ILCS 505: Sections 8 (jurisdiction and the tort award limit), 22 (filing deadlines), 22-1 (notice) and 22-2 (dismissal without notice).
• State Lawsuit Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 5/1.
• Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/13-202 (2-year personal injury limitation), 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 (comparative fault) and 735 ILCS 5/2-1303(c) (prejudgment interest).

This article is general information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and immunities depend on the facts of each case, and courts have interpreted many of these sections in ways this summary does not cover. Please speak with a lawyer about your own situation as soon as possible.