Governmental Immunity

Illinois has a law called a recreational immunity statute that protects local governments from liability when a condition on public property that is "intended or permitted to be used for recreational purposes" causes an injury. The recreational immunity statute encourages governments to provide citizens with parks and playgrounds by removing the fear of being sued if someone is injured.

However, just because an injury occurs at a public recreational facility does not mean that the government cannot be held liable. In a recent case, the manager of a high school football team stepped into a hole in the parking lot and broke his ankle as he was coming back to the practice field after going to the locker room. The court held that the recreational immunity statute did not apply because the parking lot where the injury occurred served the entire school, not just the recreational football field.

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