Background
Dr. Angie Abdallah Ghanayem received unemployment benefits after the Illinois Department of Employment Security initially determined that her discharge did not result from misconduct. The Department later found her ineligible for benefits during the period beginning October 29, 2023, because wages from her self-employment exceeded her $384 weekly benefit amount. It also notified her that she had received a $5,268 overpayment.
After a hearing referee affirmed the ineligibility determination, the Board of Review issued its final decision on August 7, 2024. The decision expressly stated that Ghanayem had to file a complaint for administrative review and have summons issued in circuit court within 35 days of that mailing date. She did not file her circuit-court complaint until May 22, 2025, and the circuit court dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court affirmed. Because decisions of the Board of Review are reviewable only under the Administrative Review Law, a party seeking judicial review must strictly follow that statute’s procedures. The law required Ghanayem to file her complaint within 35 days after the Board mailed its final decision, making September 11, 2024, the deadline.
Ghanayem’s May 2025 complaint was therefore untimely by more than eight months. The court rejected her arguments that the Illinois Constitution independently supplied jurisdiction and that unclear instructions, procedural errors, diligence, good cause, or fairness justified review. The Administrative Review Law does not permit equitable tolling or late filing based on excusable neglect or good cause, so the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to reach the merits of the benefits dispute.
Key Takeaways
- A complaint seeking review of an Illinois administrative decision must be filed within 35 days after the agency mails its final decision.
- Submitting correspondence to the agency or continuing to contact agency personnel does not substitute for timely filing a complaint in circuit court.
- Illinois courts may not excuse a missed administrative-review deadline based on equity, good cause, excusable neglect, or the interests of justice.
Why It Matters
The order underscores that the Administrative Review Law’s filing deadline is jurisdictional, not a flexible claim-processing rule. Even potentially meritorious objections to an agency’s decision cannot be considered when the complaint for judicial review is filed late.
Attorneys and self-represented parties challenging Illinois unemployment decisions should follow the judicial-review instructions in the Board’s final decision and ensure that both the complaint and summons requirements are satisfied within the statutory period. The order was issued under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23 and is nonprecedential except in the limited circumstances permitted by Rule 23(e)(1).