NCJ Number
139131
Journal
Northern Illinois University Law Review Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (1990) Pages: 269-301
Date Published
1990
Length
33 pages
Annotation
In Illinois, the public duty doctrine in relation to the duty to provide police protection is codified in the Local Government and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. While Illinois courts recognize the special duty exemption, the strict requirements of the special duty test make it of limited usefulness to plaintiffs wishing to pursue legal action against a municipality.
Abstract
The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District, in Bell v. Village of Midlothian, established a 4-prong test to determine whether a special duty to provide police protection exists. The elements of the test are whether the municipality was aware of the particular danger to which the plaintiff was exposed, whether there are allegations of specific acts or omissions on the part of the municipality, whether those acts were either willful or affirmative in nature, and whether the injury to plaintiff occurred while he was under the immediate and direct control of municipal employees. When applying the 4-prong test in Trepachko v. Village of Westhaven, the Illinois Court of Appeals apparently found that the functional concerns of law enforcement outweigh the need to compensate an individual for a loss which may be the result of governmental conduct. The author maintains that the special duty test leaves no room to consider other factors relevant to the formation of a special duty and proposes the formulation of a less rigid special duty analysis. 241 notes