Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Any person aggrieved by a decision, order
or ruling of the Office may, as a matter of right, appeal such
action.
b) All appeal requests
shall:
1) Be in writing;
2) Contain an address, telephone number, and
email address where the appellant may be notified of the time and place of the
hearing; and
3) Set forth the
reasons why the action of the Office should be reversed or modified.
c) Appeals from a decision, order
or ruling of the Office shall be instituted by filing a written request for a
hearing no later than 10 calendar days following receipt of the notice of the
action. Requests will be deemed to be timely if they are postmarked no later
than the time period allowed.
d)
The appeal request shall be mailed to:
Office of the State Fire Marshal
Attn: Legal Division
1035 Stevenson Drive
Springfield, Illinois 62703-4259
e) In the event of a timely written appeal,
the Office shall conduct an administrative hearing governed by this Section.
Notice of the time and place for any hearing shall be given to any party
concerned at least 30 calendar days prior to the hearing date. If an attorney,
through written communication, is known to represent any party to a hearing,
then notice is to be given to that attorney. A corporation, limited liability
company, professional limited liability company, or partnership must appear by
legal counsel, licensed to practice in the State of Illinois or appearing pro
hac vice, who must file an appearance with the Office. Notice sent to the last
known address by U.S. mail, registered or certified, addressed to all parties
or their agents appointed to receive service of process, or their attorneys
when applicable, is sufficient.
1) The notice
of hearing shall include the following:
A) The
date, time, place, and nature of the hearing.
B) A statement of the legal authority and
jurisdiction under which the hearing is to be held.
C) A reference to the particular section or
sections of the substantive and procedural statutes and rules
involved.
D) A short and plain
statement of the matters asserted, the consequences of a failure to respond,
and the case number or file number.
E) To the extent such information is
available, the names, phone numbers, email addresses, and mailing addresses of
the parties and designated agency contact, and if known, of any assigned
hearing officer.
2)
Document Exchange. At any pre-hearing conference, or if none, at least 7 days
prior to the start of the hearing, the parties shall exchange a list of those
witnesses who may testify at hearing and any exhibits or documents that may be
identified at hearing.
3)
Continuances. A hearing officer may, for good cause, grant a continuance at the
request of a party or a continuance on the hearing officer's own
motion.
4) Default. Failure of a
party to appear on the date set for hearing or failure to proceed as ordered by
the Office shall constitute a default and the civil fine appealed from shall
become final. Appeals, petitions, motions or other requests for relief that are
not prosecuted diligently may be dismissed for want of prosecution.
5) At the close of the evidence, or upon
receiving the recommended decision of the hearing officer with findings of fact
and conclusions of law, the Office shall enter an order to sustain, modify, or
revoke the administrative action. Any appeal by the petitioner from such Office
final order shall be subject to judicial review under the provisions of
the Administrative Review Law [735 ILCS 5/Art.
III ] and this Part. Proceedings
for judicial review shall be commenced in the circuit court of the
county in which the party applying for review resides or, if
the party applying for review is not a resident of Illinois,
shall be commenced in the circuit court in Sangamon County. [225 ILCS
217/100]
f) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the
informal disposition of an administrative action by stipulation, agreed
settlement, or consent order. Informal disposition may proceed with clear and
simple documentation without complete adherence to this Section.
