Section 101.616  Discovery

The assigned hearing officer will set all time deadlines for discovery not already provided for in this Subpart consistent with Board deadlines.  For discovery, the Board may look to the Code of Civil Procedure and the Illinois Supreme Court Rules for guidance when the Board's procedural rules are silent (see Section 101.100(b)).  All discovery disputes will be handled by the assigned hearing officer.

a)         All relevant information and information calculated to lead to relevant information is discoverable, excluding those materials that would be protected from disclosure in the courts of this State under statute, Supreme Court Rules or common law, and materials protected from disclosure under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 130.

b)         If the parties cannot agree on the scope of discovery or the time or location of any deposition, the hearing officer has the authority to order discovery or to deny requests for discovery.

c)         All discovery must be completed at least ten days prior to the scheduled hearing in the proceeding unless the hearing officer orders otherwise.

d)         The hearing officer may, on his or her own motion or on the motion of any party or witness, issue protective orders that deny, limit, condition or regulate discovery to prevent unreasonable expense, or harassment, to expedite resolution of the proceeding, or to protect non-disclosable materials from disclosure consistent with Sections 7 and 7.1 of the Act and 35 Ill. Adm. Code 130.

e)         Unless a claim of privilege is asserted, it is not a ground for objection that the testimony of a deponent or person interrogated will be inadmissible at hearing, if the information sought is reasonably calculated to lead to relevant information.  Any appeals of rulings by the hearing officer regarding discovery must be in writing and filed with the Board prior to hearing.

f)         Failure to comply with any order regarding discovery may subject the offending persons to sanctions under Subpart H.

g)         If any person serves any request for discovery or answers to discovery for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation, or knowingly gives a false answer to discovery questions, the Board, on its own motion or the motion of a party, may impose sanctions under Subpart H.

h)         A party must amend any prior responses to interrogatories, requests for production, or requests for admission if the party learns that the response is in some material respect incomplete or incorrect, and the additional or corrected information has not otherwise been made known to the other parties during the discovery process or in writing.

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 9674, effective August 22, 2019)