740 ILCS 60/1
Whenever a claim is filed with the Department of Human Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities), the Department of Children and Family Services, or the Department of Corrections for damages resulting from personal injuries or damages to property, or both, or for damages resulting from property being stolen, heretofore or hereafter caused by an inmate who has escaped from a charitable, penal, reformatory or other institution over which the State of Illinois has control while he was at liberty after his escape, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, or the Department of Corrections shall conduct an investigation to determine the cause, nature and extent of the damages and if it be found after investigation that the damage was caused by one who had been an inmate of such institution and had escaped, the Department may recommend to the Court of Claims that an award be made to the injured party, and the Court of Claims shall have the power to hear and determine such claims.
740 ILCS 60/1