Many students who experience sexual abuse or assault at an Illinois college or university first hear about Title IX. It is easy to assume that a Title IX process is the only path. It is not. Title IX and a civil claim are separate things, and a survivor can have one, the other, or both.
You do not need to have reported the abuse to police, and nobody needs to have been charged. A civil claim asks a different question from a criminal case. It asks what the college or university knew, what it should have known, and what it did.
Ervin Nevitt, a partner at Coplan + Crane, reviews these claims. He holds Illinois bar registration 6319808 and was admitted in 2014.
What sets these claims apart
Title IX governs how a federally funded school responds to a report. It can also support a lawsuit for damages where the school knew and responded with deliberate indifference.
A state-law civil claim is different. It seeks compensation for the harm itself.
Which rules apply depends on the school
The type of institution matters. Where the school is a state university, a state-law claim runs against its board in the Illinois Court of Claims. Where it is a community college, the Illinois Tort Immunity Act applies. Where it is private, neither applies, and the liability questions are the ordinary institutional ones.
Who the claim is brought 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: what the school did, or failed to do, once it knew. In practice, several theories run together, and which one fits depends on your facts rather than on a category.
Common Questions Around Illinois Title IX 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
Asking a question does not set anything in motion. You speak with a person, not a form or an intake script, and you do not have to describe what happened to have the conversation.
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. Then we tell you plainly what is possible. If you decide not to go ahead, that is the end of it, and what you told us stays confidential.
If you go ahead, we carry it: the filings, the deadlines, the 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 or visit https://survivorsofabuseil.com/title-ix-sexual-abuse-lawyer-il/.
