Pere Marquette is one of the smallest sites in the system, open since 1963, and it runs an open campus rather than a locked one.
Children were sent there on the way back out. Being harmed at the step-down stage, by staff meant to be preparing you for release, is its own particular betrayal.
If you were sexually abused by staff while you were held here as a child, you can bring a civil
claim against the body responsible for the facility. You do not need to have reported it at the
time, and nobody needs to have been charged.
What is on the record about this facility
These details come from the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice’s own published information
about the site.
- Opened: March 1963.
- Capacity: 40 youth.
- Security: Level 3 Minimum Juvenile Male.
- Location: 17808 State Highway 100W, Grafton, IL 62037 (Jersey County). Phone 618-786-2371.
- Programme: IDJJ describes it as the first step-down juvenile facility dedicated to reintegrating youth into the community; open-campus model.
Who the claim is against
This is a state facility operated by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. That brings the Illinois Tort Immunity Act into the analysis, along with notice requirements that do not apply to a private defendant. It is the first thing that has to be looked at.
Whichever body is responsible, the questions are the same: what did it know, what should it have
known, and what did it do about it. Custodial facilities generate records continuously, shift
rosters, incident reports, grievance forms, transfer logs, personnel files, and that evidence
exists whether or not anyone took you seriously at the time.
Where a claim would be brought
Claims against the State over IYC Pere Marquette are brought in the Illinois Court of Claims, not the local circuit court. The facility has been open since March 1963 and is run as an open campus rather than a locked one.
What the records would show
You are not expected to arrive with proof. In a case arising from this facility, the documents
that usually matter are open-campus supervision records, community-release paperwork, and the smaller staffing rota that made individual staff easier to identify. Those exist independently of whether anyone believed you, and
they are obtained through the claim rather than by you.
Questions people ask
Will my family have to know?
Not from us. The first conversation is confidential whether or not you go ahead, and if you do, steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record.
I never reported it while I was inside.
Almost nobody did. Reporting meant telling colleagues of the person who did it, then going back onto the same wing that night. That is understood, and it does not weaken a claim.