Section 790.40  Procedure

a)         Electronic Filing. Cases shall be commenced by the electronic filing of a verified complaint with the Court's electronic filing system. A party filing a case shall be designated as the claimant, and either the State of Illinois or the appropriate State agency (Section 8(d), Court of Claims Act [705 ILCS 505]) shall be designated as the respondent. The electronic filing system will note on the complaint, and each copy, the date of filing.  The Attorney General or the legal counsel of the appropriate State agency shall be notified of the electronic filing. Documents filed electronically must conform to the technical specifications contained in the Court's electronic filing system.

b)         Paper Filing.  In the event an exception is granted pursuant to 790.30(c) and paper filing is allowed, cases shall be commenced by the filing of a verified complaint with the Clerk of the Court.  A party filing a case shall be designated as the claimant, and either the State of Illinois or the appropriate State agency, specified in Section 8(d) of the Court of Claims Act [705 ILCS 505/8(d)] shall be designated as the respondent.  The Clerk will note on the complaint, and each copy, the date of filing, and deliver one of the copies to the Attorney General or to the legal counsel of the appropriate State agency. 

c)         Attorney of Record. In all cases filed in this Court, all claimants not appearing pro se must be represented by an attorney of record by a member of the Illinois bar.  Permission for an out-of-state attorney to appear will require compliance with Supreme Court Rules 707, 718 and 756, governing out-of-state attorneys' authorization to practice.  A corporation, association, limited liability company or partnership must appear by legal counsel, licensed to practice in the State of Illinois or appearing pro hac vice. If the name, address, and telephone number of an attorney appear on a complaint, no written appearance for such attorney need be filed, but withdrawal and substitution of attorneys shall be by written motion, with proof of service upon the claimant, and filed in the case.

d)         Complaint-form. The complaint shall be captioned substantially as follows:

e)         Required information. Parties or their attorneys must include on the appearance and all pleadings filed with the Court of Claims an email address to which documents and notices will be served.  A self-represented litigant must also include the email address on the appearance and on all pleadings filed with the Court to which documents and notices will be served.

f)         Method of Service.  Unless otherwise specified by rule or order of the Court, all filings shall be served electronically through the Court's electronic filing system.  If service other than electronic service is specified by order of the Court or an exception to the electronic filing requirements has been granted pursuant to Section 790.30(c), service of documents may be made by depositing the filing in a United States post office or post office box, enclosed in an envelope to the party's address, as identified by the party's appearance in the matter, with postage fully prepaid.

g)         Notice of Email Rejection.  If a party serving a document filing via e-mail receives a rejection message or similar notification suggesting that transmission was not successful, the party serving the document shall take reasonable steps to ensure actual service of the document.

(Source:  Amended at 50 Ill. Reg. 7241, effective May 1, 2026)