Section 120.400  Prehearing Conferences

a)         Upon the ALJ's own motion or the motion of a party, the ALJ may direct the parties or their counsel to meet with the ALJ for a conference to consider:

1)         Simplification of the issues;

2)         Necessity or desirability of amending documents for purposes of clarification, simplification or limitation;

3)         Stipulations and admissions of fact and of contents and authenticity of documents;

4)         Limitation of the number of witnesses;

5)         Propriety of prior mutual exchange between and among the parties who have prepared testimony or exhibits;

6)         Rulings on pre-hearing motions; and

7)         Taking such other action and addressing such other matters as may tend to expedite the disposition of the proceedings and to assure a just conclusion.

b)         The ALJ shall make an order that recites the action taken at the conference, the amendments allowed to any pleadings that have been filed, and the agreements made between the parties as to any of the matters considered and that limits the issues for hearings to those not disposed of by admissions or agreements.  The order, when entered, controls the subsequent course of the hearing unless modified at the hearing to prevent manifest injustice.  A party may file any objections to a prehearing order to preserve its position for the record.

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 17631, effective August 15, 2014)