How to File a Civil Rights Lawsuit in Illinois: Steps and Deadlines

To file a civil rights lawsuit in Illinois, first identify the law your claim falls under, because that decides your deadline and whether an agency charge comes first. A Section 1983 claim against police or other government officials can go straight to court. Most discrimination claims start with a charge at a state or federal agency.

Key takeaways

• A Section 1983 claim for police misconduct does not require you to go through a state agency before you sue.
• In Illinois, the deadline for a Section 1983 claim is two years. Related state-law claims against a city, county or its employees have a one-year deadline.
• Most discrimination charges at the Illinois Department of Human Rights must be filed within 2 years, and housing charges within 1 year.
• A charge with the federal EEOC has a 180-day deadline that extends to 300 days in some situations, and you have 90 days to sue after a Notice of Right to Sue.
• Evidence such as body-camera video should be requested and preserved right away.

This article is general information about Illinois and federal law, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the facts of each case, so talk to a lawyer about yours.

Step 1: Identify what kind of civil rights claim you have

"Civil rights lawsuit" covers two very different tracks in Illinois.

Claims against police and other government officials. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lets a person sue anyone who, acting under color of state law, deprives them of a right secured by the Constitution or federal law. Excessive force, false arrest and unlawful searches by state or local officers are brought under this statute. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Patsy v. Board of Regents that exhausting state administrative remedies is not a prerequisite to a Section 1983 action. One exception is written into federal law: a person confined in a jail or prison must first use the available grievance process before suing over prison conditions, under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a).

Discrimination claims. Claims of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and similar areas usually begin with an agency charge. For federal employment discrimination laws, the EEOC states that you first have to file a charge with the EEOC before you can sue, except under the Equal Pay Act. Illinois has its own agency, the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), which takes charges under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Step 2: Find your deadline before you do anything else

A missed deadline can end a case no matter how strong the facts are. These are the main ones for Illinois:

• Section 1983 claims: two years. Section 1983 has no deadline of its own. Federal courts borrow the state's deadline for personal injury claims, and in Illinois that period is two years, as the Supreme Court explained in Wallace v. Kato, a case that came out of Chicago.
• State-law claims against a local government or its employees: one year. Claims under Illinois law, such as battery or false imprisonment, are often filed alongside a Section 1983 claim. Section 8-101 of the Illinois Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act requires a civil action against a local entity or its employees to be started within one year, as quoted in this Illinois Appellate Court opinion on section 8-101.
• IDHR charges: 2 years for most cases, 1 year for housing. The IDHR's filing deadlines say most cases must be filed within 2 years of the discrimination and housing cases within 1 year.
• EEOC charges: 180 or 300 days. The EEOC's time limits are 180 calendar days from the discrimination, extended to 300 days when a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis. The EEOC also says that an internal grievance, union grievance, arbitration or mediation generally does not extend the deadline.
• After an EEOC Notice of Right to Sue: 90 days to file the lawsuit.

Step 3: Preserve the evidence

Start a record on the day of the incident: names and badge numbers of the officers involved, contact details for witnesses, photographs of injuries and the scene, medical records, and your own written timeline while the details are fresh.

Our firm sends spoliation letters as soon as we take a civil rights case, demanding that the agency preserve body-camera footage, dashcam video, jail surveillance recordings, dispatch logs and internal communications. In federal court, Rule 37(e) allows a judge to order measures when electronically stored information that should have been preserved is lost. The most serious measures, such as telling the jury it may presume the lost information was unfavorable, require a finding that the party acted with intent to deprive the other side of it.

Step 4: Choose the court

Federal district courts have jurisdiction over civil actions arising under the Constitution and federal law under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and that includes Section 1983 claims. A federal court can also hear related state-law claims in the same case under 28 U.S.C. § 1367.

If a case with a federal claim is filed in an Illinois state court, the defendant may be able to move it to federal court. 28 U.S.C. § 1441 allows a defendant to remove a civil action that the federal district courts would have had original jurisdiction over.

Illinois has three federal districts: Northern, Central and Southern. 28 U.S.C. § 93 lists the counties in each. Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will counties are in the Eastern Division of the Northern District, which sits in Chicago. One proper place to file is a district where a substantial part of the events took place, under 28 U.S.C. § 1391. When we filed a civil rights lawsuit against Granite City, Illinois alleging excessive force and religious discrimination, it was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Step 5: Draft, file and serve the complaint

A federal complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the claim showing that you are entitled to relief, under Rule 8. A complaint that does not state a claim the law recognizes can be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6). In practice that means the complaint has to connect each defendant's conduct to a specific legal violation. An angry narrative is not enough.

People filing without a lawyer can use the federal courts' Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights (Non-Prisoner) form.

After filing, each defendant must be served. Under Rule 4(m), if a defendant is not served within 90 days after the complaint is filed, the court must dismiss the case against that defendant without prejudice or order service within a set time.

Step 6: Get through discovery

Discovery is how you obtain the records and testimony the other side holds. Three tools do most of the work:

• Interrogatories are written questions the other party answers under oath, such as who was at the scene and which policies applied.
• Depositions are live questioning of a witness under oath, recorded by a court reporter.
• Requests for admission ask the other side to admit or deny specific facts or the authenticity of documents.

Deadlines apply to you too. Under Rule 36(a)(3), a matter is admitted unless the party who received the request serves a written answer or objection within 30 days, unless the parties agree or the court orders a different time.

Expect the defense to raise qualified immunity. Officers are shielded from Section 1983 damages unless the unlawfulness of their conduct was clearly established at the time, which the Supreme Court said in District of Columbia v. Wesby requires a high degree of specificity.

Step 7: Settlement talks, trial and what a court can award

Federal judges can use pretrial conferences to facilitate settlement under Rule 16. Whether to accept an offer is always the client's decision. No lawyer can promise a result or a timeline.

If a case succeeds, federal law provides for:

• Compensatory damages for the harm caused.
• Punitive damages against individual defendants when their conduct involves reckless or callous indifference to federally protected rights, under Smith v. Wade. A municipality is immune from punitive damages under Section 1983, under City of Newport v. Fact Concerts.
• Attorney's fees. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee.

Suing the city itself takes more than proving an officer did wrong. Under Monell v. Department of Social Services, a local government is responsible under Section 1983 when its own policy or custom caused the injury, not simply because it employs the officer.

How The Law Offices of Haytham Faraj handles civil rights cases

We prepare every case for trial from day one. Our team has tried more than 80 cases to verdict, and our verdicts and settlements include a $2 million settlement in Chicago for the wrongful killing of a man by Chicago police, a $5 million settlement in Phoenix for a man who suffocated when police knelt on him during an arrest, a $4.5 million settlement for the wrongful death of a man who was tased by police during an arrest, and a $26.1 million verdict in Los Angeles. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts.

We handle civil rights cases, including excessive force claims, on a contingency fee basis: you pay nothing unless we win. We will not pressure you to accept a quiet resolution that buries the truth. Haytham Faraj believes that those who can, must fight to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

To talk about what happened to you, call our Chicago office at (312) 635-0800 or request a free consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file a complaint with an agency before suing the police in Illinois?

No. A Section 1983 claim does not require you to exhaust state administrative remedies first. The agency-first rule applies to most discrimination claims, such as employment discrimination charges filed with the EEOC or the IDHR. Prisoners suing over prison conditions must use the grievance process first.

How long do I have to file a Section 1983 lawsuit in Illinois?

Two years. Federal courts apply the state's personal injury deadline to Section 1983 claims, and in Illinois that is two years. State-law claims against a local government or its employees must be started within one year, so do not wait.

What is the deadline to file a charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights?

The IDHR says most cases must be filed within 2 years of the discrimination, and housing cases within 1 year. The federal EEOC has its own, shorter deadlines of 180 or 300 days.

Should a civil rights case be filed in state or federal court?

Section 1983 claims arise under federal law, so federal district courts can hear them along with related state-law claims. If a case with a federal claim is filed in state court, the defendant may be able to remove it to federal court.

Can I recover attorney's fees if I win?

Possibly. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, the court may, in its discretion, allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee in a Section 1983 case. It is not automatic.

What does it cost to hire your firm for a civil rights case?

We handle civil rights cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless we win, and the consultation is free.