Yes - usually you have just 1 year to sue if the truck was owned by the City of Chicago or another local public entity in Illinois. That shorter deadline comes from the Illinois Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, and it catches people who assume the normal 2-year injury deadline applies.

If a Chicago Streets and Sanitation salt truck slid into your car on black ice, or a Cook County road crew vehicle hit you, the 1-year clock usually starts on the crash date. Miss it, and the court can throw the case out even if your injuries were serious and the medical bills kept piling up. Illinois no longer requires the old formal notice letter to the city, but the lawsuit itself still has to be filed on time.

A real-life example: say a city salt truck hit you near Western Avenue during a January storm, and you ended up at Stroger Hospital with broken ribs and breathing problems. Medicare may pay part of the treatment, but it does not extend your lawsuit deadline. If you wait until month 14 because you were focused on rehab, winter pain flare-ups, and collection letters, a claim against the city is likely gone.

The catch is figuring out who owned the truck:

• City of Chicago, Cook County, CTA, or another local agency: usually 1 year
• Private snow contractor or private company truck: usually 2 years
• State vehicle, like IDOT: different rules can apply through the Illinois Court of Claims

So the urgent move is to confirm ownership from the crash report, photos, vehicle markings, or the claim number. In Illinois, that one detail can cut your filing time in half.