Illinois Sexual Abuse Settlement Calculator
Illinois statute of limitations for childhood and adult sexual abuse claims under 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2 and 735 ILCS 5/13-202
How much are Illinois sexual abuse settlements worth? We have not verified specific settlement or verdict figures for Illinois sexual abuse cases for this page. Case value depends on factors such as the identity of the perpetrator, institutional involvement, the evidence available, and the severity and duration of the abuse — details an attorney can evaluate for your specific facts.
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PTSD, depression, anxiety, complex trauma — formally diagnosed?
Larger institutions have more resources and higher settlements.
Estimated Settlement Range
$176,400 — $327,600
Abuse settlements vary widely by jurisdiction, institutional resources, and the documented impact. This is a benchmark range based on reported cases.
Editorially Reviewed — Content reviewed for accuracy using published legal research, government data, and verified court records. See our methodology
Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor
Illinois Has No Statute of Limitations for Childhood Sexual Abuse Claims
Illinois permanently removed the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims through 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2(f), which took effect January 1, 2014. Under this provision, an action for damages based on childhood sexual abuse — an act occurring when the victim was under 18 — may be commenced at any time. This applies going forward without a filing deadline; there is no age cutoff and no discovery-based clock to track.
The removal is prospective, not retroactive. The statute's own text limits it to actions that "would not have been time barred under any statute of limitations or statute of repose prior to the effective date" of the amendment. In other words, if a childhood abuse claim was already time-barred before January 1, 2014, this provision does not bring it back to life. The Illinois Supreme Court reached the same non-retroactivity conclusion for the materially identical 2003 version of this amendment in Doe v. Diocese of Dallas, 234 Ill. 2d 393 (2009).
For abuse experienced as an adult (18 or older at the time), Illinois applies the general 2-year personal injury limitation period under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, with two notable exceptions described below. Illinois has never enacted a temporary revival window of the kind some other states have used to reopen claims that had already expired — so whether an adult claim is still viable depends on the ordinary rules, not on a special filing period. Anyone weighing an Illinois civil claim should have the specific dates and circumstances of the abuse reviewed by an attorney, since the applicable rule depends heavily on the victim's age at the time and, for adult claims, on whether the perpetrator was criminally convicted.
Illinois Has Never Enacted a Temporary Revival Window
Some states have passed time-limited "lookback" or "revival" windows that temporarily allow already time-barred sexual abuse claims to be filed. Illinois has not done this. What Illinois has done instead is permanently eliminate the childhood SOL on a forward-looking basis — a different and narrower mechanism, explained below.
Illinois Statute of Limitations — Current Rules
Childhood sexual abuse (under 18 at the time): No time limit applies. 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2(f) states: "an action for damages based on childhood sexual abuse or a violation of Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012 in which the victim is a minor may be commenced at any time." This applies to actions that were not already time-barred as of the amendment's January 1, 2014 effective date. Claims that had already expired before that date remain barred.
Adult sexual assault (18 or older at the time): Illinois has no sexual-assault-specific statute of limitations for adult victims as a standalone rule. Instead, the general personal injury limitation of 2 years applies under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, which covers "actions for damages for an injury to the person" among other claims. There are two exceptions worth knowing. First, if the injury arises from the commission of a Class X felony (for example, aggravated criminal sexual assault) and the perpetrator is convicted of that crime, there is no time limit at all. Second, 735 ILCS 5/13-202.3 tolls — pauses — the 2-year period for injuries from sexual conduct or sexual penetration for as long as the victim remains subject to threats, intimidation, manipulation, or fraud by the perpetrator.
Damage Caps in Illinois Sexual Abuse Cases
We have not verified a sexual-abuse-specific damage cap statute for Illinois for this page, and we are not stating one here. What the record does show is how attorney contingency fees work in a general Illinois personal injury case: there is no statutory cap on contingency fee percentages for general personal injury claims (735 ILCS 5/2-1114 and its related provisions govern medical malpractice fee scaling, not sexual abuse or general PI). Fee arrangements are instead governed by Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5, which requires that any fee be reasonable. An older 33 1/3% / 25% / 20% sliding-scale fee structure still circulates in some online summaries — that structure was replaced by P.A. 97-1145, and a related provision allowing courts to increase the percentage was also repealed. Any contingency arrangement described to you as a cap is an upper limit on what an attorney may charge, not a fixed or standard rate — ask your attorney to state the exact percentage and how it is calculated before signing an agreement.
Illinois Sexual Abuse Settlement Data
We have not yet verified specific Illinois sexual abuse settlement or verdict amounts for publication on this page. Outcomes in these cases vary widely based on the facts of each claim, and figures reported elsewhere online are not always sourced to a verifiable settlement record. If you are evaluating a potential claim, ask an attorney for information specific to your circumstances rather than relying on unverified aggregate figures.
Institutional Liability: Why the Real Money Is There
Individual abusers often have limited assets. Institutional defendants (churches, schools, organizations) have deep pockets AND legal liability for enabling abuse. Understanding institutional liability theories explains the massive recoveries.
Negligent hiring
Negligent hiring: Institution hired an abuser despite red flags (prior complaints, criminal history, industry warnings). Liable for inadequate background checks and ignoring references.
Negligent supervision
Negligent supervision: Institution failed to supervise the abuser appropriately given their role and contact with vulnerable populations. Applies to teachers, clergy, coaches, caregivers.
Negligent retention
Negligent retention: Institution kept the abuser on staff after learning of concerning behavior. This is the 'priest shuffle' theory — moving abusers between locations without action.
Respondeat superior
Respondeat superior: Employer is vicariously liable for employee acts committed in the course of employment. Narrower for intentional acts but still applies to many abuse scenarios.
Breach of fiduciary duty
Breach of fiduciary duty: Special relationships (clergy-parishioner, teacher-student, counselor-client) create heightened duties. Breach creates liability beyond negligence.
Fraudulent concealment
Fraudulent concealment: Institution actively hid the abuse from law enforcement, new victims, or parents. Often unlocks punitive damages and extends SOL (the clock starts from discovery of concealment).
Illinois Sexual Abuse Settlement FAQs
I was abused as a child in Illinois. Is there a deadline to file?
Generally, no. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2(f), an action for damages based on childhood sexual abuse (abuse occurring when the victim was under 18) may be commenced at any time — there is no statute of limitations. This applies to claims that were not already time-barred as of January 1, 2014, when the amendment took effect. If your claim was already expired under the law that existed before that date, this provision does not revive it; that limit was confirmed by the Illinois Supreme Court in Doe v. Diocese of Dallas, 234 Ill. 2d 393 (2009), addressing the materially identical 2003 version of the amendment. An attorney can review the timeline of your specific case.
I was sexually assaulted as an adult in Illinois. How long do I have to file a civil claim?
The general rule is 2 years from when the cause of action accrued, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, which covers personal injury claims broadly rather than sexual assault specifically. Two exceptions can extend this. If the perpetrator is convicted of a Class X felony (such as aggravated criminal sexual assault) arising from the same conduct, there is no time limit. Separately, 735 ILCS 5/13-202.3 tolls the 2-year period for sexual conduct or sexual penetration injuries for as long as you remain subject to threats, intimidation, manipulation, or fraud by the perpetrator. Because these exceptions depend heavily on case-specific facts, an attorney should review whether either applies before you conclude a claim is time-barred.
Does Illinois have a temporary lookback window for sexual abuse claims that already expired?
No. Illinois has never enacted a temporary revival or lookback window of the kind some other states have used to reopen previously time-barred sexual abuse claims. What Illinois did instead, through 735 ILCS 5/13-202.2(f) (effective January 1, 2014), is permanently remove the statute of limitations for childhood abuse claims on a forward-looking basis — but the same provision explicitly does not apply to claims that were already time-barred before that date. The Illinois Supreme Court reached the same conclusion about the earlier 2003 version of this language in Doe v. Diocese of Dallas, 234 Ill. 2d 393 (2009). If your claim was time-barred before 2014, this statute does not change that.
How much will an Illinois sexual abuse attorney charge?
There is no statutory cap on contingency fee percentages for a general Illinois personal injury claim, including sexual abuse. Fees are instead governed by Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5, which requires that any fee charged be reasonable — a standard, not a fixed number. You may see an older 33 1/3% / 25% / 20% sliding-scale structure referenced online; that scale was replaced by P.A. 97-1145, and a related court-ordered fee increase was also repealed, so it no longer reflects current Illinois law for these claims. Ask any attorney you consult to state their exact percentage and how expenses are handled before you sign a fee agreement — a contingency arrangement caps what can be charged, it is not a standard rate you should expect to pay.
What compensation is available in an Illinois sexual abuse case?
We have not verified specific damage caps or typical settlement ranges for Illinois sexual abuse claims for this page, so we are not publishing figures here. What we can confirm is procedural: whether you can bring a claim at all depends first on the statute of limitations rules above — no time limit for childhood abuse (subject to the 2014 cutoff), and a 2-year limit for adult abuse (subject to the Class X felony and tolling exceptions). Once viability is established, the value of any individual claim depends on facts specific to that case. An attorney licensed in Illinois can assess both the timeliness of a claim and its potential value.
Pending Legal Developments
Legal situation is evolving. As of April 2026:
- adult_sol: Bei Verurteilung wegen Class-X-Felony (z.B. aggravated criminal sexual assault) entfällt die Frist vollständig.
- contingency_cap: The outdated 33 1/3 / 25 / 20% sliding scale still circulates online — replaced by P.A. 97-1145; the court increase (subsec. c) was also repealed.
- contingency_cap: keine gesetzliche Grenze fuer allgemeine PI (nur Ill. R. Prof. Cond. 1.5)
This page is informational only. Consult a licensed attorney for case-specific advice.
Primary Sources
- www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050k13-202.htm
- www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/073500050K13-202.2.htm
- www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=073500050K2-1114
Other State Sexual Abuse Calculators
California
3 revival windows (AB 218/2777/250)
New York
CVA + ASA + NYC GMVA (open Jul 2027)
New Jersey
Age-55 + 7-yr discovery rule
Maryland
No SOL for childhood + 2025 cap cut
All States — Main Calculator
Nationwide settlement ranges + institutional liability overview
Related
Other Calculators for Illinois
Each Illinois calculator reflects state-specific laws (caps, statutes of limitations, comparative-negligence rules) and uses Illinois verdict data where available.
Cities in Illinois
Sexual Abuse Settlement Calculators by State
Lookback windows and settlement ranges for survivors vary by state: