(225 ILCS 729/85)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)

Sec. 85. Depositions; witnesses; judicial review.

(a) The State Fire Marshal has the power to subpoena and bring before him or her any person in this State and to take testimony either orally or by deposition, or both, with the same fees and mileage and in the same manner as is prescribed by law for judicial proceedings in civil cases. The State Fire Marshal and the hearing officer approved by the State Fire Marshal have the power to administer oaths at any hearing that the State Fire Marshal is authorized to conduct.

(b) A circuit court, upon the application of the licensee or the State Fire Marshal, may order the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant books and papers in any hearing conducted pursuant to this Act. The court may compel obedience to its order by proceedings for contempt.

(c) The State Fire Marshal, at the Office's expense, shall provide a stenographer or a mechanical recording device to record the testimony and preserve a record of all proceedings at the hearing of any case wherein a license may be revoked, suspended, placed on probationary status, or other disciplinary action taken with regard to the license. The notice of hearing, the complaint, and all other documents in the nature of pleadings and written motions filed in the proceedings, the transcript of testimony, the report of the hearing officer, and the orders of the State Fire Marshal constitute the record of the proceedings. The State Fire Marshal shall furnish a transcript of the record to any interested person upon payment of the costs of copying and transmitting the record.

(d) All final administrative decisions of the State Fire Marshal are subject to judicial review pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Review Law and the rules adopted pursuant thereto. Proceedings for judicial review shall be commenced in the Circuit Court of the county in which the party applying for review resides. If the party applying for review is not a resident of Illinois, the venue shall be in Sangamon County. The State Fire Marshal shall not be required to certify any record to the court, file any answer in court, or otherwise appear in any court in a judicial review proceeding, unless there is filed in the court with the complaint a receipt from the State Fire Marshal acknowledging payment of the costs of furnishing and certifying the record, which costs shall be computed at the cost of preparing such record. Exhibits shall be certified without cost. Failure on the part of the licensee to file the receipt in court shall be grounds for dismissal of the action.

During all judicial proceedings incident to disciplinary action, the sanctions imposed upon the accused by the State Fire Marshal shall remain in effect, unless the court feels justice requires a stay of the order.

(Source: P.A. 92-618, eff. 7-11-02.)