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	Sex Abuse Laws WAND [Illinois] Downloaded December 3, 2003 (AP) A new state law granting more time for lawsuits stemming from sexual abuse cases is being challenged in at least two Illinois courtrooms. The law signed this summer threw out the old two-year time limit for filing lawsuits against child molesters. The new deadline is the victim's 28th birthday, although there can be exceptions. But attorneys in two abuse lawsuits say the law is so vague that it's unconstitutional. They also say applying it in cases where the old deadline has expired would deprive defendants of their rights. One lawsuit against the Springfield Catholic Diocese involves abuse by a former priest in the 1980s. The other alleges abuse by a counselor at a Catholic high school in Cook County. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests argues it's wrong for Catholic organizations to challenge the law.
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