(230 ILCS 5/15) (from Ch. 8, par. 37-15)

Sec. 15. (a) The Board shall, in its discretion, issue occupation licenses to horse owners, trainers, harness drivers, jockeys, agents, apprentices, grooms, stable foremen, exercise persons, veterinarians, valets, blacksmiths, concessionaires and others designated by the Board whose work, in whole or in part, is conducted upon facilities within the State. Such occupation licenses will be obtained prior to the persons engaging in their vocation upon such facilities. The Board shall not license pari-mutuel clerks, parking attendants, security guards and employees of concessionaires. No occupation license shall be required of any person who works at facilities within this State as a pari-mutuel clerk, parking attendant, security guard or as an employee of a concessionaire. Concessionaires of the Illinois State Fair and DuQuoin State Fair and employees of the Illinois Department of Agriculture shall not be required to obtain an occupation license by the Board.

(b) Each application for an occupation license shall be on forms prescribed by the Board. Such license, when issued, shall be for the period ending December 31 of each year, except that the Board in its discretion may grant 3-year licenses. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of not more than $25 per year or, in the case of 3-year occupation license applications, a fee of not more than $60. Each applicant shall set forth in the application his full name and address, and if he had been issued prior occupation licenses or has been licensed in any other state under any other name, such name, his age, whether or not a permit or license issued to him in any other state has been suspended or revoked and if so whether such suspension or revocation is in effect at the time of the application, and such other information as the Board may require. Fees for registration of stable names shall not exceed $50.00. Beginning on the date when any organization licensee begins conducting gaming pursuant to an organization gaming license issued under the Illinois Gambling Act, the fee for registration of stable names shall not exceed $150, and the application fee for an occupation license shall not exceed $75, per year or, in the case of a 3-year occupation license application, the fee shall not exceed $180.

(c) The Board may in its discretion refuse an occupation license to any person:

(1) who has been convicted of a crime;

(2) who is unqualified to perform the duties required of such applicant;

(3) who fails to disclose or states falsely any information called for in the application;

(4) who has been found guilty of a violation of this Act or of the rules and regulations of the Board; or

(5) whose license or permit has been suspended, revoked or denied for just cause in any other state.

(d) The Board may suspend or revoke any occupation license:

(1) for violation of any of the provisions of this Act; or

(2) for violation of any of the rules or regulations of the Board; or

(3) for any cause which, if known to the Board, would have justified the Board in refusing to issue such occupation license; or

(4) for any other just cause.

(e) Each applicant shall submit his or her fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases. The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the records check. The Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, records of conviction to the Board. Each applicant for licensure shall submit with his occupation license application, on forms provided by the Board, 2 sets of his fingerprints. All such applicants shall appear in person at the location designated by the Board for the purpose of submitting such sets of fingerprints; however, with the prior approval of a State steward, an applicant may have such sets of fingerprints taken by an official law enforcement agency and submitted to the Board.

(f) The Board may, in its discretion, issue an occupation license without submission of fingerprints if an applicant has been duly licensed in another recognized racing jurisdiction after submitting fingerprints that were subjected to a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history background check in that jurisdiction.

(g) Beginning on the date when any organization licensee begins conducting gaming pursuant to an organization gaming license issued under the Illinois Gambling Act, the Board may charge each applicant a reasonable nonrefundable fee to defray the costs associated with the background investigation conducted by the Board. This fee shall be exclusive of any other fee or fees charged in connection with an application for and, if applicable, the issuance of, an organization gaming license. If the costs of the investigation exceed the amount of the fee charged, the Board shall immediately notify the applicant of the additional amount owed, payment of which must be submitted to the Board within 7 days after such notification. All information, records, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data supplied to or used by the Board in the course of its review or investigation of an applicant for a license or renewal under this Act shall be privileged, strictly confidential, and shall be used only for the purpose of evaluating an applicant for a license or a renewal. Such information, records, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data shall not be admissible as evidence, nor discoverable, in any action of any kind in any court or before any tribunal, board, agency, or person, except for any action deemed necessary by the Board.

(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)