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Article III - Administrative Review

      (735 ILCS 5/Art. III heading)ARTICLE III ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW

(735 ILCS 5/3‑101) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑101)     Sec. 3‑101. Definitions. For the purpose of this Act:     "Administrative agency" means a person, body of persons, group, officer, board, bureau, commission or department (other than a court or judge) of the State, or of any political subdivision of the State or municipal corporation in the State, having power under law to make administrative decisions.     "Administrative decision" or "decision" means any decision, order or determination of any administrative agency rendered in a particular case, which affects the legal rights, duties or privileges of parties and which terminates the proceedings before the administrative agency. In all cases in which a statute or a rule of the administrative agency requires or permits an application for a rehearing or other method of administrative review to be filed within a specified time (as distinguished from a statute which permits the application for rehearing or administrative review to be filed at any time before judgment by the administrative agency against the applicant or within a specified time after the entry of such judgment), and an application for such rehearing or review is made, no administrative decision of such agency shall be final as to the party applying therefor until such rehearing or review is had or denied. However, if the particular statute permits an application for rehearing or other method of administrative review to be filed with the administrative agency for an indefinite period of time after the administrative decision has been rendered (such as permitting such application to be filed at any time before judgment by the administrative agency against the applicant or within a specified time after the entry of such judgment), then the authorization for the filing of such application for rehearing or review shall not postpone the time when the administrative decision as to which such application shall be filed would otherwise become final, but the filing of the application for rehearing or review with the administrative agency in this type of case shall constitute the commencement of a new proceeding before such agency, and the decision rendered in order to dispose of such rehearing or other review proceeding shall constitute a new and independent administrative decision. If such new and independent decision consists merely of the denial of the application for rehearing or other method of administrative review, the record upon judicial review of such decision shall be limited to the application for rehearing or other review and the order or decision denying such application and shall not include the record of proceedings had before the rendering of the administrative decision as to which the application for rehearing or other administrative review shall have been filed unless the suit for judicial review is commenced within the time in which it would be authorized by this Act to have been commenced if no application for rehearing or other method of administrative review had been filed. On the other hand, if the rehearing or other administrative review is granted by the administrative agency, then the record on judicial review of the resulting administrative decision rendered pursuant to the rehearing or other administrative review may consist not only of the record of proceedings had before the administrative agency in such rehearing or other administrative review proceeding, but also of the record of proceedings had before such administrative agency prior to its rendering of the administrative decision as to which the rehearing or other administrative review shall have been granted. The term "administrative decision" or "decision" does not mean or include rules, regulations, standards, or statements of policy of general application issued by an administrative agency to implement, interpret, or make specific the legislation enforced or administered by it unless such a rule, regulation, standard or statement of policy is involved in a proceeding before the agency and its applicability or validity is in issue in such proceeding, nor does it mean or include regulations concerning the internal management of the agency not affecting private rights or interests. (Source: P.A. 92‑651, eff. 7‑11‑02.)

(735 ILCS 5/3‑102) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑102)     Sec. 3‑102. Scope of Article. Article III of this Act shall apply to and govern every action to review judicially a final decision of any administrative agency where the Act creating or conferring power on such agency, by express reference, adopts the provisions of Article III of this Act or its predecessor, the Administrative Review Act. This Article shall be known as the "Administrative Review Law". In all such cases, any other statutory, equitable or common law mode of review of decisions of administrative agencies heretofore available shall not hereafter be employed.     Unless review is sought of an administrative decision within the time and in the manner herein provided, the parties to the proceeding before the administrative agency shall be barred from obtaining judicial review of such administrative decision. In an action to review any final decision of any administrative agency brought under Article III, if a judgment is reversed or entered against the plaintiff, or the action is voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, or the action is dismissed for want of prosecution, or the action is dismissed by a United States District Court for lack of jurisdiction, neither the plaintiff nor his or her heirs, executors, or administrators may commence a new action within one year or within the remaining period of limitation, whichever is greater. All proceedings in the court for revision of such final decision shall terminate upon the date of the entry of any Order under either Section 2‑1009 or Section 13‑217. Such Order shall cause the final administrative decision of any administrative agency to become immediately enforceable. If under the terms of the Act governing the procedure before an administrative agency an administrative decision has become final because of the failure to file any document in the nature of objections, protests, petition for hearing or application for administrative review within the time allowed by such Act, such decision shall not be subject to judicial review hereunder excepting only for the purpose of questioning the jurisdiction of the administrative agency over the person or subject matter. (Source: P.A. 88‑1.)

    (735 ILCS 5/3‑103)(from Ch. 110, par. 3‑103)
    Sec. 3‑103. Commencement of action. Every action to review a final administrative decision shall be commenced by the filing of a complaint and the issuance of summons within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the party affected by the decision, except that in municipalities with a population of 500,000 or less a complaint filed within the time limit established by this Section may be subsequently amended to add a police chief or a fire chief in cases brought under the Illinois Municipal Code's provisions providing for the discipline of fire fighters and police officers.
    The method of service of the decision shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, a decision shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the decision is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business.
    The form of the summons and the issuance of alias summons shall be according to rules of the Supreme Court.
    This amendatory Act of 1993 applies to all cases involving discipline of fire fighters and police officers pending on its effective date and to all cases filed on or after its effective date.
    The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 95‑831, eff. 8‑14‑08.)

(735 ILCS 5/3‑104) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑104)     Sec. 3‑104. Jurisdiction and venue. Jurisdiction to review final administrative decisions is vested in the Circuit Courts, except as to a final order of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board in which case jurisdiction to review a final order is vested in the Appellate Court of a judicial district in which the Board maintains an office. If the venue of the action to review a final administrative decision is expressly prescribed in the particular statute under authority of which the decision was made, such venue shall control, but if the venue is not so prescribed, an action to review a final administrative decision may be commenced in the Circuit Court of any county in which (1) any part of the hearing or proceeding culminating in the decision of the administrative agency was held, or (2) any part of the subject matter involved is situated, or (3) any part of the transaction which gave rise to the proceedings before the agency occurred. The court first acquiring jurisdiction of any action to review a final administrative decision shall have and retain jurisdiction of the action until final disposition of the action. (Source: P.A. 88‑1.)

    (735 ILCS 5/3‑105)(from Ch. 110, par. 3‑105)
    Sec. 3‑105. Service of summons. Summons issued in any action to review the final administrative decision of any administrative agency shall be served by registered or certified mail on the administrative agency and on each of the other defendants except in the case of a review of a final administrative decision of the regional board of school trustees, regional superintendent of schools, or State Superintendent of Education, as the case may be, when a committee of 10 has been designated as provided in Section 7‑6 of the School Code, and in such case only the administrative agency involved and each of the committee of 10 shall be served. The method of service shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, summons shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the summons is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business. The form of the summons and the issuance of alias summons shall be according to rules of the Supreme Court. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to serve summons on an employee, agent, or member of an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, acting in his or her official capacity, where the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity has been served as provided in this Section. Service on the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, shall be deemed service on the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to serve summons on an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, acting, where the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, has been served as provided in this Section. Service on the administrative agency shall be made by the clerk of the court by sending a copy of the summons addressed to the agency at its main office in the State. The clerk of the court shall also mail a copy of the summons to each of the other defendants, addressed to the last known place of residence or principal place of business of each such defendant. The plaintiff shall, by affidavit filed with the complaint, designate the last known address of each defendant upon whom service shall be made. The certificate of the clerk of the court that he or she has served such summons in pursuance of this Section shall be evidence that he or she has done so.
    The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 95‑831, eff. 8‑14‑08.)

(735 ILCS 5/3‑106) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑106)     Sec. 3‑106. Appearance of defendants. In any action to review any final decision of any administrative agency, the agency shall appear by filing an answer consisting of a record of the proceedings had before it, or a written motion in the cause or a written appearance. All other defendants desiring to appear shall appear by filing a written appearance. Every appearance shall be filed within the time fixed by rule of the Supreme Court, and shall state with particularity an address where service of notices or papers may be made upon the defendant so appearing, or his or her attorney. (Source: P.A. 88‑1.)

    (735 ILCS 5/3‑107)(from Ch. 110, par. 3‑107)
    Sec. 3‑107. Defendants.
    (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c), in any action to review any final decision of an administrative agency, the administrative agency and all persons, other than the plaintiff, who were parties of record to the proceedings before the administrative agency shall be made defendants. The method of service of the decision shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, a decision shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the decision is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business. The form of the summons and the issuance of alias summons shall be according to rules of the Supreme Court.
    No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to name an employee, agent, or member, who acted in his or her official capacity, of an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, where the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, has been named as a defendant as provided in this Section. Naming the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, shall be deemed to include as defendant the administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity that the named defendants direct or head. No action for administrative review shall be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction based upon the failure to name an administrative agency, board, committee, or government entity, where the director or agency head, in his or her official capacity, has been named as a defendant as provided in this Section.
    If, during the course of a review action, the court determines that an agency or a party of record to the administrative proceedings was not made a defendant as required by the preceding paragraph, then the court shall grant the plaintiff 35 days from the date of the determination in which to name and serve the unnamed agency or party as a defendant. The court shall permit the newly served defendant to participate in the proceedings to the extent the interests of justice may require.
    (b) With respect to actions to review decisions of a zoning board of appeals in a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more inhabitants under Division 13 of Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code, "parties of record" means only the zoning board of appeals and applicants before the zoning board of appeals. The plaintiff shall send a notice of filing of the action by certified mail to each other person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from. The notice shall be mailed within 2 days of the filing of the action. The notice shall state the caption of the action, the court in which the action is filed, and the names of the plaintiff in the action and the applicant to the zoning board of appeals. The notice shall inform the person of his or her right to intervene. Each person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from shall have a right to intervene as a defendant in the action upon application made to the court within 30 days of the mailing of the notice.
    (c) With respect to actions to review decisions of a hearing officer or a county zoning board of appeals under Division 5‑12 of Article 5 of the Counties Code, "parties of record" means only the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals and applicants before the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals. The plaintiff shall send a notice of filing of the action by certified mail to each other person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from. The notice shall be mailed within 2 days of the filing of the action. The notice shall state the caption of the action, the court in which the action is filed, and the name of the plaintiff in the action and the applicant to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals. The notice shall inform the person of his or her right to intervene. Each person who appeared before and submitted oral testimony or written statements to the hearing officer or the zoning board of appeals with respect to the decision appealed from shall have a right to intervene as a defendant in the action upon application made to the court within 30 days of the mailing of the notice. This subsection (c) applies to zoning proceedings commenced on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.
    (d) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 95‑321, eff. 8‑21‑07; 95‑831, eff. 8‑14‑08.)

(735 ILCS 5/3‑108) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑108)     Sec. 3‑108. Pleadings and record on review.     (a) Complaint. The complaint shall contain a statement of the decision or part of the decision sought to be reviewed. It shall specify whether the transcript of evidence, if any, or what portion thereof, shall be filed by the agency as part of the record. Upon motion of any defendant, or upon its own motion, the court may require of the plaintiff a specification of the errors relied upon for reversal.     (b) Answer. Except as herein otherwise provided, the administrative agency shall file an answer which shall consist of the original or a certified copy of the entire record of proceedings under review, including such evidence as may have been heard by it and the findings and decisions made by it. By order of court or by stipulation of all parties to the review, the record may be shortened by the elimination of any portion thereof. If the complaint specifies that none or only a part of the transcript of evidence shall be filed as part of the answer and if the administrative agency or any other defendant objects thereto, the court shall hear the parties upon this question and make a finding as to whether all, or if less than all, what parts of the transcript shall be included in the answer. No pleadings other than as herein enumerated shall be filed by any party unless required by the court.     (c) Record after remandment. If the cause is remanded to the administrative agency and a review shall thereafter be sought of the administrative decision, the original and supplemental record, or so much thereof as shall be determined by court order or the stipulation of all the parties, shall constitute the record on review. (Source: P.A. 88‑1.)

(735 ILCS 5/3‑109) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑109)     Sec. 3‑109. Costs of preparing and certifying record of proceedings before agency. If the statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered provides or requires that the plaintiff in the review proceeding shall pay to the agency the costs of preparing and certifying the record of proceedings before the agency, the failure to make that payment shall relieve the agency of the necessity of filing the answer required in Section 3‑108 of this Act and shall be authority for the entry of an order by the court, on motion therefor by the agency or any other defendant, dismissing the complaint and (in the case of an administrative decision which requires the payment of money) entering a judgment against the plaintiff and in favor of the administrative agency for the amount shown by the administrative decision that is involved to be due, and for costs. (Source: P.A. 88‑1.)

(735 ILCS 5/3‑110) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑110)     Sec. 3‑110. Scope of review. Every action to review any final administrative decision shall be heard and determined by the court with all convenient speed. The hearing and determination shall extend to all questions of law and fact presented by the entire record before the court. No new or additional evidence in support of or in opposition to any finding, order, determination or decision of the administrative agency shall be heard by the court. The findings and conclusions of the administrative agency on questions of fact shall be held to be prima facie true and correct. (Source: P.A. 88‑1.)

    (735 ILCS 5/3‑111)(from Ch. 110, par. 3‑111)
    Sec. 3‑111. Powers of circuit court.
    (a) The Circuit Court has power:
        (1) with or without requiring bond (except if

otherwise provided in the particular statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered), and before or after answer filed, upon notice to the agency and good cause shown, to stay the decision of the administrative agency in whole or in part pending the final disposition of the case. For the purpose of this subsection, "good cause" requires the applicant to show (i) that an immediate stay is required in order to preserve the status quo without endangering the public, (ii) that it is not contrary to public policy, and (iii) that there exists a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits;

(2) to make any order that it deems proper for the

amendment, completion or filing of the record of proceedings of the administrative agency;

(3) to allow substitution of parties by reason of

marriage, death, bankruptcy, assignment or other cause;

(4) to dismiss parties, to correct misnomers, to

realign parties, or to join agencies or parties;

(5) to affirm or reverse the decision in whole or in

part;

(6) where a hearing has been held by the agency, to

reverse and remand the decision in whole or in part, and, in that case, to state the questions requiring further hearing or proceedings and to give such other instructions as may be proper;

(7) where a hearing has been held by the agency, to

remand for the purpose of taking additional evidence when from the state of the record of the administrative agency or otherwise it shall appear that such action is just. However, no remandment shall be made on the ground of newly discovered evidence unless it appears to the satisfaction of the court that such evidence has in fact been discovered subsequent to the termination of the proceedings before the administrative agency and that it could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have been obtained at such proceedings; and that such evidence is material to the issues and is not cumulative;

(8) in case of affirmance or partial affirmance of

an administrative decision which requires the payment of money, to enter judgment for the amount justified by the record and for costs, which judgment may be enforced as other judgments for the recovery of money;

(9) when the particular statute under authority of

which the administrative decision was entered requires the plaintiff to file a satisfactory bond and provides for the dismissal of the action for the plaintiff's failure to comply with this requirement unless the court is authorized by the particular statute to enter, and does enter, an order imposing a lien upon the plaintiff's property, to take such proofs and to enter such orders as may be appropriate to carry out the provisions of the particular statute. However, the court shall not approve the bond, nor enter an order for the lien, in any amount which is less than that prescribed by the particular statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered if the statute provides what the minimum amount of the bond or lien shall be or provides how said minimum amount shall be determined. No such bond shall be approved by the court without notice to, and an opportunity to be heard thereon by, the administrative agency affected. The lien, created by the entry of a court order in lieu of a bond, shall not apply to property exempted from the lien by the particular statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered. The lien shall not be effective against real property whose title is registered under the provisions of the Registered Titles (Torrens) Act until the provisions of Section 85 of that Act are complied with.

(b) Technical errors in the proceedings before the administrative agency or its failure to observe the technical rules of evidence shall not constitute grounds for the reversal of the administrative decision unless it appears to the court that such error or failure materially affected the rights of any party and resulted in substantial injustice to him or her.     (c) On motion of either party, the circuit court shall make findings of fact or state the propositions of law upon which its judgment is based.     (d) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. (Source: P.A. 95‑831, eff. 8‑14‑08.)

(735 ILCS 5/3‑112) (from Ch. 110, par. 3‑112)     Sec. 3‑112. Appeals. A final decision, order, or judgment of the Circuit Court, entered in an action to review a decision of an administrative agency, is reviewable by appeal as in other civil cases. (Source: P.A. 88‑1.)

    (735 ILCS 5/3‑113)
    Sec. 3‑113. Direct review of administrative orders by the appellate court.
    (a) Unless another time is provided specifically by the law authorizing the review, an action for direct review of a final administrative decision of an administrative agency by the appellate court shall be commenced by the filing of a petition for review in the appellate court within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the party affected by the decision. The method of service of the decision shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, a decision shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the decision is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business.
    (b) The petition for review shall be filed in the appellate court and shall specify the parties seeking review and shall designate the respondent and the order or part thereof to be reviewed. The administrative agency and all persons, other than the petitioner, who were parties of record to the proceedings before the administrative agency shall be made respondents. The method of service of the decision shall be as provided in the Act governing the procedure before the administrative agency, but if no method is provided, a decision shall be deemed to have been served either when a copy of the decision is personally delivered or when a copy of the decision is deposited in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope or package, with postage prepaid, addressed to the party affected by the decision at his or her last known residence or place of business. The form of the summons and the issuance of alias summons shall be according to rules of the Supreme Court.
    If, during the course of a review action, the court determines that an agency or a party of record to the administrative proceedings was not made a defendant as required by the preceding paragraph, then the court shall grant the plaintiff 35 days from the date of the determination in which to name and serve the unnamed agency or party as a defendant. The court shall permit the newly served defendant to participate in the proceedings to the extent the interests of justice may require.
    (c) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly apply to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 95‑831, eff. 8‑14‑08.)