Not every Illinois college is treated the same way when a survivor of sexual abuse brings an abuse claim. A state university, a community college, and a private university each follow a different path. Knowing which one you attended is one of the first steps in understanding your options.
You do not need to have reported the abuse to police, and nobody needs to have been charged. A civil claim asks what the college or university knew, what it should have known, and what it did. Attorney Ervin Nevitt, a partner at Coplan + Crane, reviews these cases. He is registered with the Illinois bar (6319808) and was admitted in 2014.
State universities
Where the institution is a state university, a state-law claim runs against its board in the Illinois Court of Claims. That is a different forum from the ordinary courts, with its own rules.
Community colleges
Where the institution is a community college, the Illinois Tort Immunity Act applies. That law governs claims against Illinois public bodies and brings its own immunities and requirements.
Private colleges and universities
Where the institution is private, neither the Court of Claims nor the Tort Immunity Act applies. The Tort Immunity rules that govern claims against Illinois public bodies do not apply in the same way, and the liability questions are the ordinary institutional ones.
Title IX applies across the board
Title IX and a civil claim are separate things. Title IX governs how a federally funded school responds to a report, whether that school is public or private. It can also support a lawsuit for damages where the school knew and responded with deliberate indifference. A state-law civil claim seeks compensation for the harm itself. You can have one, the other, or both.
Who the claim is against
These claims are usually brought against the college or university, not only against the individual. The theory that most often carries them is institutional response failure. In practice, several theories run together, and which one fits depends on your facts rather than on a category.
Common Questions Around Campus Claims
Will my name be public? Steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record. We explain them before anything is filed.
The person who did it has died. A claim can still proceed. It is usually brought against the institution that placed that person in a position of trust.
I am asking for someone else. That is fine and it happens often. The person involved has no obligation to do anything.
What happens when you contact us
Nothing starts because you ask a question. You speak with a person, not an intake script, and you do not have to describe what happened. We look into which institution was responsible, what it knew, what records exist, and whether a claim can still be brought. That work costs you nothing.
We tell you plainly what is possible. If you decide not to go ahead, it ends there, and what you told us stays confidential. If you go ahead, we carry the filings, deadlines, records, and the institution's insurers. Steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record.
Call (708) 671-6858 for a free, confidential case review.
