Section 336.80  How to Request a Hearing/Sufficiency

After the Department has indicated a report and issued a notice of a right to an administrative hearing, a subject of a report may appeal by filing a timely and sufficient written Request for Appeal at the offices of the Administrative Hearings Unit.

a)         For purposes of determining timeliness, an appeal shall be deemed filed:

1)         as of the date of the postmark; or

2)         as of the date of receipt by the Administrative Hearings Unit, if the appeal was filed in person at the office of Administrative Hearings Unit; or

3)         the date the appeal was received by electronic facsimile transmission at the Administrative Hearings Unit office.

b)         When the last day for the filing of an appeal falls upon a day on which the Administrative Hearings Unit is not open for business, an appeal shall be deemed timely if filed by the first regular business day thereafter.

c)         An appeal shall be deemed sufficient if it provides the following information in legible form:

1)         name, address and phone number (if any) of the appellant and the State Central Register number; and

2)         name, address and phone number of the appellant's representative (if applicable).

d)         In the event that the Chief Administrative Law Judge finds an appeal to be timely but not sufficient (see subsections (c)(1) and (2) above), the appeal and a request for the required missing information shall be returned to the appellant within five days after receipt by the Administrative Hearings Unit. If the appellant re-files a sufficient appeal within five days from the postmark of the date that appeal is returned, the appeal shall be considered timely. The Administrative Hearings Unit shall not consider an appeal actionable, and no time frames shall begin to run, until receipt of a sufficient appeal.  If the appeal does not have a legible name or address, the Chief Administrative Law Judge may dismiss the appeal.

e)         Appellants unable to file a written request for an appeal may request and receive appropriate assistance from Department field office staff to ensure that a proper written request for an appeal is made.

(Source:  Amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 7660, effective June 1, 2000)