Letter: What the Civil Rights Remedies Restoration Act means

I want to call attention to a bill passed by the Illinois legislature, the Civil Rights Remedies Restoration Act. The bill was a response to a Supreme Court ruling that prevents damages for emotional distress caused by a civil rights violation under certain federal statutes from being awarded.

The bill allows for at least $40,000, plus attorney fees and other expenses, in non-monetary loss damages to be awarded if federal laws are violated. The bill’s creation is a legitimate concern that the legislature addressed. It goes further by allowing claims to be filed against the state and eliminating the general rule that the state is immune from suit. The bill’s impact may be that when a state employee is accused of civil rights violations, the state and taxpayers may also bear the brunt. The current laws sometimes make governments liable for employees’ civil rights violations. However, the bill opens the state’s public treasury as a payment source for damages not limited to financial loss.

James L. Reese

Sterling