20 Ill. Admin. Code § 504.850

Section 504.850(a) permits an inmate to appeal a grievance decision in writing within 30 days after the CAO’s decision; when no decision is issued, the inmate is not required to appeal to exhaust administrative remedies.

Butler v. Pfister · filed 2019-06-06(a)

Third, if the inmate feels that the issue is not resolved to his satisfaction following the CAO’s decision, he or she may appeal in writing within 30 days of the date of the decision. ... There is no basis in Ill. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 504 for defendants’ assertion that plaintiff failed to exhaust because he did not appeal the decision to the ARB. Plaintiff received no decision to appeal.

Section 504.850(a) requires an inmate to appeal a CAO's grievance denial to the ARB in order to fully exhaust administrative remedies.

Cross v. Aguinaldo · filed 2020-11-30(a)

Cross was required to appeal the denial of his October 2017 Grievances to the ARB in order to fully exhaust his remedies. Ill. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 504.850(a).

Section 504.850(a) allows an incarcerated person to appeal a grievance denial to the Administrative Review Board within 30 days, but the appeal remedy may be practically unavailable when prison officials take an unreasonable time to issue the denial.

Morgan v. Wexford Health Source, Inc. · filed 2022-08-13(a)

When an imprisoned person believes that a grievance has not been resolved satisfactorily by the grievance office, he may appeal the denial to the ARB within thirty days. Ill. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 504.850(a). ... The problem with defendants' argument lies in the obvious reason why Morgan did not appeal sooner: there was nothing to appeal, because it took the grievance office nearly eleven months to address his grievances. ... In short, by late October-early November 2020, Morgan had waited long enough to establish the practical unavailability of the grievance process. The Court therefore overrules defendants' contention that he failed to exhaust the grievance process before filing suit.

Section 504.850(e) requires completion of the ARB appeal process and receipt of the IDOC Director’s final determination before an inmate has exhausted administrative remedies and may sue.

McDonald v. Miles · filed 2022-01-31(e)

The ARB reviews the appeal and submits a written report of its findings and recommendations to the IDOC Director, who reviews that report and makes a final determination on the grievance. Ill. Admin. Code tit. 20, § 504.850(e). Once the inmate receives the IDOC Director’s final determination, he has exhausted his administrative remedies and may turn to the court system. Id.; Turley v. Rednour, 729 F.3d 645, 649 (7th Cir. 2013).