The Illinois Court of Claims is a quasi-judicial entity in the State of Illinois.

Powers

The Illinois Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction to hear all claims regarding any contract with the State of Illinois; torts committed by agents of the state; time unjustly served by innocent persons in Illinois prisons; torts committed by escaped inmates of state-controlled institutions; and lapsed appropriations claims. The Court of Claims administers assistance programs to compensate families of law enforcement officers, firefighters and military personnel killed in the line of duty. The court also vouchers awards to in nocent victims of violent crimes as authorized by the Crime Victims’ Compensation Act. Mark Wojcik, a professor at

University of Illinois Chicago School of Law University of Illinois Chicago School of Law is a Public university, public law school in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1899, the school offers programs for both part-time and full-time students, with both day and night classes available, and of ...

, considers the Court more accurately a part of the legislative branch than the judicial branch.

Structure

There are seven judges on the court of claims who are assisted by sixteen commissioners. The Illinois Secretary of State serves as the ex-officio Clerk of the Court of Claims. Judges on the Court of Claims are appointed by the Governor of Illinois and confirmed by the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

. In 1987, state legislation increased the number of judges on the Illinois Court of Claims from five judges to seven judges.

Incumbent judges

As of the publication of the 2021-2022 edition of the Illinois Blue Book, the below seven are: * Peter J. Birnbaum, Chief Justice (appointed 2004) * Mary Patricia Burns (appointed 2009) * Joseph Gagliardo (appointed 2017) * Michael McGlynn (appointed 2015) * Robert J. Sprague (appointed 2019) * Nancy Zettler (appointed 2019) Past notable judges include Kirk Dillard,

Roger Sommer Roger Sommer (4 August 1877 in Pierrepont, France – 14 April 1965 at Sainte-Maxime) was a French aviator. Born to Alfred Sommer, a Belgian industrialist, Roger Sommer became involved with aviation from an early age. He broke the record for ...

, and

Anne M. Burke Anne Marie Burke (née McGlone; born February 3, 1944) is an American jurist who served on the Illinois Supreme Court from 2006 until 2022. She served a term as the chief justice from 2019 until 2022. Burke had previously been appointed to the Il ...

References

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External links

Court of Claims website
provided by Illinois Secretary of State Illinois state courts