Carver v. Sheriff of La Salle County

This case is before us on a question of Illinois law certified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. 145 Ill. 2d R. 20. The certified question is:

“Whether, and if so when, Illinois law requires counties to pay judgments entered against a sheriff’s office in an official capacity. If [the Supreme Court of Illinois] believes that the answer depends on whether the case was settled as opposed to litigated, we would welcome treatment of that distinction as well.”

For the reasons that follow, we hold that under Illinois law a sheriff, in his or her official capacity, has the…