Yang v. City of Chicago

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:

“Does section 9 — 102 of the Illinois Tort Immunity Act provide for attorneys’ fees against municipalities within its definition of compensatory damages?”

For the reasons that follow, we answer the certified question in the negative.

BACKGROUND

We take the following facts from the Seventh Circuit’s opinion in Yang v. City of Chicago, 198 F.3d 630 (7th Cir. 1999).

“On January 8, 1991, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Mike Yang…