Injury Claims Against Illinois Government Entities: The One-Year Deadline

Last Updated: July 5, 2026

If you were injured by an Illinois city, county, school district, park district, or other local government entity, you do not file a “notice of claim.” You file a lawsuit, and you must file it within one year. The old written-notice statute was repealed in 1986. Claims against the State of Illinois follow different rules in the Court of Claims.

The One-Year Rule for Injury Claims Against Illinois Local Governments

An ordinary Illinois personal injury claim carries a two-year statute of limitations under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. Claims against local government entities are different. Under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a), part of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, no civil action may be commenced against a local entity or any of its employees “unless it is commenced within one year from the date that the injury was received or the cause of action accrued.”

That is the trap. It is not a notice deadline. It is a lawsuit deadline, and it is half the time you would have against a private defendant. Courts enforce it strictly.

The 30-, 60-, and 90-Day “Notice” Myth

You may read elsewhere that Illinois requires a written notice of claim to a municipality within 30, 60, or 90 days of an injury, or within six months, or within a year. That is not Illinois law today.

Illinois did once have a pre-suit notice statute, section 8-102 of the Tort Immunity Act. The General Assembly repealed it effective November 25, 1986 (P.A. 84-1431), and the Illinois Appellate Court has confirmed the repeal. No general written notice of claim is required before suing an Illinois municipality, county, school district, park district, or any other local public entity for personal injury. Articles describing 30-, 60-, or 90-day municipal notice deadlines are describing the law of other states, or Illinois law from before 1986.

The practical rule is simpler and harsher: the notice you give the government is the lawsuit itself, and it must be on file within one year.

Who Counts as a “Local Public Entity”

The one-year rule reaches nearly every unit of local government. Under 745 ILCS 10/1-206, “local public entity” includes counties, townships, municipalities, school districts and school boards, community college districts, park districts, forest preserve districts, fire protection districts, sanitary districts, library systems, and other local governmental bodies. It does not include the State of Illinois or its agencies, which are covered by a separate system described below.

The Patient-Care Exception

There is one major exception inside the Act itself. Under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(b), claims against a local public entity or employee arising out of patient care, for example care at a county-run hospital or public health clinic, follow a two-year limitations period measured from when the claimant knew or reasonably should have known of the injury, with an outside limit of four years from the act or omission.

Transit Agencies Have Their Own One-Year Statutes

• Chicago Transit Authority. Suits against the CTA are governed by 70 ILCS 3605/41, which requires the action to be commenced within one year. An older version of that statute imposed a separate six-month notice; the current statute is a one-year suit deadline.
• Metra and Pace. Personal injury actions against the Regional Transportation Authority service boards are governed by the one-year limitation in 70 ILCS 3615/5.03, not the general two-year statute.

Claims Against the State of Illinois Are Different

The State itself cannot be sued in circuit court for personal injury. Under the State Lawsuit Immunity Act (745 ILCS 5/1), those claims belong exclusively in the Illinois Court of Claims. The Court of Claims Act (705 ILCS 505/22-1) requires a written notice filed with the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Court of Claims within one year of the injury, but the statute itself says a claimant who simply files the claim within one year does not need the separate notice. Missing both bars the claim permanently.

This matters in road cases: a defect on a city street points to the city and the one-year circuit court deadline, while a defect on a state route may point to the State and the Court of Claims. Identifying the right defendant early is part of protecting the deadline.

What to Do If a Government Entity Injured You

• Mark the one-year date from the injury, and treat it as the controlling deadline.
• Photograph and document early. Governments keep maintenance logs, inspection records, and complaint histories, and early involvement of counsel helps get preservation demands out before records are routinely destroyed.
• Identify every potential defendant. City, township, county, state, and private contractors can each own a piece of the same stretch of road or sidewalk, and different deadlines can apply to each.
• Do not wait out settlement talks. Negotiating with a municipal insurer does not pause the one-year clock.

Talk to a lawyer well before the year runs. Parker & Parker handles injury claims against government entities across central Illinois. Call (309) 673-0069 or schedule a free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to send a notice of claim before suing an Illinois city or county?

No. The pre-suit notice statute, 745 ILCS 10/8-102, was repealed effective November 25, 1986. What Illinois requires instead is that the lawsuit itself be filed within one year under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a).

How long do I have to sue an Illinois municipality for a personal injury?

One year from the date of injury or accrual under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a). That is half the standard two-year deadline that applies against private defendants, and it covers counties, cities, school districts, park districts, and most other local government bodies.

Is there a 30-day notice deadline for injury claims in Cook County?

No. No Illinois statute imposes a 30-, 60-, or 90-day notice deadline for tort claims against any Illinois municipality or county, including Cook County. The controlling deadline is the one-year lawsuit deadline.

What deadline applies to claims against the CTA, Metra, or Pace?

One year. The CTA has its own one-year statute (70 ILCS 3605/41), and Metra and Pace fall under the one-year limitation in the Regional Transportation Authority Act (70 ILCS 3615/5.03).

What if my claim is against the State of Illinois?

Claims against the State go to the Illinois Court of Claims, not circuit court. File the claim within one year; filing within one year also satisfies the Court of Claims Act notice requirement. Missing the deadline permanently bars the claim.

What if the injury involved care at a public hospital or clinic?

Patient-care claims against local public entities follow 745 ILCS 10/8-101(b): two years from discovery of the injury, but never more than four years from the act or omission.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the facts of your case, and exceptions exist. Talk to an Illinois lawyer about your specific situation promptly.

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