Thiele v. Board of Trustees of Illinois State University

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-University’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs-students’ section 1983 action, alleging that defendant breached contract by failing to remit entire students’ Mandatory Fee during period of time that University shifted to remote learning from in-person instruction during COVID-10 pandemic, even though plaintiffs asserted that failure to remit entire Mandatory Fee, which was used to cover cost of on-campus facilities and programs, violated both Takings Clause of 5th Amendment and Due Process Clause. Plaintiffs could not obtain any monetary award against University, since states and their agencies are not “persons” for purposes of section 1983. Fact that plaintiffs added two individual defendants (University President and Chairperson of its Board) did not require different result, since neither individual was responsible for repayment of Mandatory Fee. Moreover, plaintiffs’ allegations of violation of state-law contract is action lying under state law, and alleged breach of state-law contract does not violate U.S. Constitution.