(705 ILCS 505/8) (from Ch. 37, par. 439.8)
    Sec. 8. Court of Claims jurisdiction; deliberation periods. The court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine the following matters:
        (a) All claims against the State founded upon any law
    
of the State of Illinois or upon any regulation adopted thereunder by an executive or administrative officer or agency; provided, however, the court shall not have jurisdiction (i) to hear or determine claims arising under the Workers' Compensation Act or the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act, or claims for expenses in civil litigation, or (ii) to review administrative decisions for which a statute provides that review shall be in the circuit or appellate court.
        (b) All claims against the State founded upon any
    
contract entered into with the State of Illinois.
        (c) All claims against the State for time unjustly
    
served in prisons of this State, in county jails, in county juvenile detention facilities, or in Illinois Youth Centers, on parole or probation, or registered as a sex offender when the person unjustly convicted or adjudicated a delinquent received a pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon is issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he or she was convicted or adjudicated a delinquent or he or she received a certificate of innocence from the Circuit Court as provided in Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure. For such claims, the amount of the award is at the discretion of the court; and provided, the court shall make an award of up to $50,000 per calendar year, and prorated for any partial calendar year, during which the person was wrongfully incarcerated in a State prison, in a county jail, in a county juvenile detention facility, or in an Illinois Youth Center, and up to $25,000 for each calendar year, and prorated for any partial calendar year, during which the person was wrongfully on parole or probation or required to register as a sex offender. Any time in custody that was served on a companion charge arising out of the same case shall be deducted from the total award. The court shall direct payment of awards under this subsection as follows:
            (1) For awards of $1,000,000 or less, the full
        
amount is to be paid with funds from the State fiscal year in which the award was entered.
            (2) For awards of more than $1,000,000 but less
        
than $1,300,000, $1,000,000 is to be paid from the State fiscal year in which the award was entered, and the remainder is to be paid in the next fiscal year thereafter.
            (3) For awards of $1,300,000 or more, $1,000,000
        
is to be paid from the State fiscal year in which the award was entered, and the remainder is to be paid in equal installments over the next 3 fiscal years.
        The court shall annually adjust the awards required
    
by this subsection (c) to reflect the increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers for the previous calendar year, as determined by the United States Department of Labor, except that no annual increment may exceed 5%. For the annual adjustments, if the Consumer Price Index decreases during a calendar year, there shall be no adjustment for that calendar year. The transmission by the Prisoner Review Board or the clerk of the circuit court of the information described in Section 11(b) to the clerk of the Court of Claims is conclusive evidence of the validity of the claim. The court shall determine reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and expenses for the claimant's attorney not to exceed: (i) 25% of the award for claimants incarcerated 3 years or less; (ii) 15% of the award for claimants incarcerated more than 3 years but less than 10 years; and (iii) 10% of the award for claimants incarcerated 10 years or more. The claimant's attorney may not collect any fees, costs, and expenses in excess of the amounts awarded under this Section. The changes made by Public Act 95-970 apply to all claims pending on or filed on or after September 22, 2008 (the effective date of Public Act 95-970). The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly apply to all claims pending or filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly.
        (d) All claims against the State for damages in cases
    
sounding in tort, if a like cause of action would lie against a private person or corporation in a civil suit, and all like claims sounding in tort against the Medical Center Commission, the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University, or the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy; provided, that an award for damages in a case sounding in tort, other than certain cases involving the operation of a State vehicle described in this paragraph, shall not exceed the sum of $2,000,000 to or for the benefit of any claimant. The $2,000,000 limit prescribed by this Section does not apply to an award of damages in any case sounding in tort arising out of the operation by a State employee of a vehicle owned, leased or controlled by the State. The defense that the State or the Medical Center Commission or the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Governors State University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University, or the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy is not liable for the negligence of its officers, agents, and employees in the course of their employment is not applicable to the hearing and determination of such claims. The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply only to claims filed on or after July 1, 2015.
        The court shall annually adjust the maximum awards
    
authorized by this subsection to reflect the increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers for the previous calendar year, as determined by the United States Department of Labor. The Comptroller shall make the new amount resulting from each annual adjustment available to the public via the Comptroller's official website by January 31 of every year.
        (e) All claims for recoupment made by the State of
    
Illinois against any claimant.
        (f) All claims pursuant to the Line of Duty
    
Compensation Act. A claim under that Act must be heard and determined within one year after the application for that claim is filed with the Court as provided in that Act.
        (g) All claims filed pursuant to the Crime Victims
    
Compensation Act.
        (h) All claims pursuant to the Illinois National
    
Guardsman's Compensation Act. A claim under that Act must be heard and determined within one year after the application for that claim is filed with the Court as provided in that Act.
        (i) All claims authorized by subsection (a) of
    
Section 10-55 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act for the expenses incurred by a party in a contested case on the administrative level.
(Source: P.A. 104-573, eff. 7-14-26.)