Illinois Court of Claims Jurisdiction Based on Federal Statute

The Court of Claims, being a Court of limited jurisdiction pursuant to statute, does not have subject matter jurisdiction to entertain claims based on federal statute, Farrell v. State, 52 Ill. Ct. Cl. 275 (2000). Furthermore, federal and state constitutional issues are outside the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims. Smart v. State, 48 Ill. Ct. Cl. 38 (1996) (citing Reyes v. State, 35 Ill. Ct. Cl. 498 (1979), Winzeler Trucking Co. v. State, 32 Ill. Ct. Cl. 191 (1978) (holding the Court of Claims does not have statutory authority to hear alleged violations of equal protection and due process under federal and state constitutions). In Ziegler v. State, 55 Ill. Ct. Cl. 405 (2002), the Court explained: This Court is a creature of Illinois statute, and our limited jurisdiction is solely what the General Assembly has granted by law. If a subject matter is not enumerated or encompassed by the jurisdictional grant in our enabling Act (Section 8, Court of Claims Act, 705 ILCS 505/8), and if the jurisdiction over that subject is not granted by another Illinois statute, that subject does not lie within our adjudicatory jurisdiction to hear and determine claims against the State. Federal statutory and constitutional claims are among the subjects that are not mentioned in section 8 of the Court of Claims Act, our primary jurisdictional statute and thus this Court has long held that it lacks jurisdiction over claims arising under federal law.