Section 2605.200  Hearing Officer

In any Administrative Hearing, the Department Director or Director's designee shall appoint or retain an impartial or independent person as a Hearing Officer to conduct the Administrative Hearing. The Hearing Officer shall meet the following standards and qualifications:

a)         be licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois;

b)         be impartial. It shall not be a bar to acting as Hearing Officer that the attorney is also an employee of another State agency or a Department employee, so long as the Department employee has not had any direct involvement with the case. Mere familiarity with the facts shall not disqualify an otherwise qualified person from acting as the Hearing Officer; and

c)         be familiar with the rules of evidence applied in the circuit courts of Illinois and with the IAPA and rules promulgated under the IAPA.

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 4056, effective March 19, 2019)