Section 336.140  Exchange of Information

a)         All requests for information must be in writing and sent to the party from whom the information is sought at least 10 days in advance of the pre-hearing conference.  The requestor must send a copy of the request to the Administrative Hearings Unit.  A party, without leave of the Administrative Law Judge, may request from any other party:

1)         a list of witnesses to be called at the hearing; and

2)         copies of all documents that a party intends to present to the Administrative Law Judge at the hearing.  The Department does not need to send a copy of the investigative file to the appellant when the Department has previously sent a copy of the investigative file to the appellant pursuant to Section 336.40(d).

b)         A party may not request this information until the first hearing date has been set.  All requests for information shall be served on all other parties or their authorized representative.  Copies of all requests for information shall be filed with the Administrative Hearings Unit.  All requests for information shall be answered within 10 calendar days after receipt unless, upon good cause shown, leave is sought for additional time to answer.

c)         A party may exercise any rights to access any Department record under 89 Ill. Adm. Code 431 (Confidentiality of Personal Information of Persons Served by the Department).

d)         No discovery, described in Supreme Court Rule 201 et seq., shall be permitted prior to a hearing except by permission of the Administrative Law Judge.

e)         Hearings shall not be delayed to permit the exchange of information unless timeliness and due diligence is shown by the party seeking the information.

f)          If a party fails to answer a request for information, the Administrative Law Judge may enter any just and appropriate order to advance the disposition of the matter, including but not limited to:

1)         stay any further proceeding until the request for information is answered;

2)         bar the testimony of any witness not disclosed in the answer to the request for information; or

3)         prohibit the introduction of, or any testimony concerning, any document or evidence not disclosed in an answer to the request for information.

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