AUTHORITY: Implementing and authorized by the Illinois Loan Brokers Act of 1995 [815 ILCS 175].

SOURCE: Emergency rule adopted at 20 Ill. Reg. 629, effective January 1, 1996, for a maximum of 150 days; adopted at 20 Ill. Reg. 8012, effective May 30, 1996; amended at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998; amended at 26 Ill. Reg. 14873, effective September 30, 2002; amended at 33 Ill. Reg. 12845, effective September 8, 2009.

SUBPART A: DEFINITIONS

 

Section 145.50  Scope of the Law

 

The Illinois Loan Brokers Act of 1995 [815 ILCS 175] shall apply only when the person engaged or sought to be engaged by the loan broker is domiciled in this State or, when the company or business seeking to borrow, has its principal office in this State, or the Loan Broker is located in this State.

 

(Source:  Amended at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

 

Section 145.51  Definitions of Terms as Used in the Act and the Rules

 

a)         As used in this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, the term:

 

            "Act" means the Illinois Loan Brokers Act of 1995 [815 ILCS 175] and this Part.

 

            "Advertising" means any advertisement, or other similar materials or writings or any communication by radio, television, facsimile transmission, electronic transmission, pictures or the transmittal or sending of any communication via the non-proprietary, nonprofit, public computer network (commonly known as the "Internet") or similar means.

 

            "Affiliate" of, or a person "affiliated" with, a specified person means a person who, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified.

 

            "Applicant" means the person making application for registration.

 

            "Date of filing" means the date that all of the required documents are received by the Securities Department and all the required fees are paid to the Secretary of State.  A document shall not be deemed to be filed if any information required by the Act or this Part is omitted or the document is illegible.

 

            "Director" means any director of a corporation or any person performing similar functions with respect to any organization whether incorporated or unincorporated.

 

            "Employee" does not include a director, trustee or officer.

 

            "Federal Banking Act of 1933" means the Federal Banking Act of 1933 (12 U.S.C. 227) and the Rules and Regulations thereunder as in effect on January 1, 1996.

 

            "Hearing" means a proceeding conducted by the Securities Department in which the rights, privileges, immunities, duties or obligations of any person or party are required by law to be determined by the Secretary of State only after opportunity for a hearing.

 

            "Interest" as delineated in Section 15-60 of the Act means the rate of interest set forth in 815 ILCS 205.

 

            "Loan Broker" does not mean or include any person described in Section 15-5.15(b) of the Act or any person authorized to do business under the Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987 or exempt from licensure as provided for in the Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987 or any person authorized to do business in Illinois and regulated by the Commissioner of Savings, Real Estate Professionals and Mortgage Finance, also known as the Commissioner of Savings and Residential Finance.

 

            "Material", when used to qualify a requirement for the furnishing of information as to any subject, limits the information required to those matters as to which there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable person would consider important.

 

            "Officer" means the president; any vice president in charge of a principal business unit, division or function; the secretary; the treasurer; any principal financial officer, comptroller or principal accounting officer; any other officer performing a principal policy-making function; and any other person performing similar functions with respect to any organization whether incorporated or unincorporated.

 

            "Principal" means any officer, director, partner, member, trustee or manager who is responsible for the supervision and management of the daily business operations in this State of a loan broker required to be registered under the Act.

 

            "Rules" refers to all rules adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to the Act.

 

            "Secretary of State"  means the Securities Department of the Office of the Secretary of State or the Secretary of State or the Securities Director or his or her designee, as the case may be.

 

            "Section" refers to a Section of this Part unless a reference to the Act is specifically made.

 

b)         A Section of this Part which defines a term without express reference to the Act or to this Part or to a portion thereof or hereof defines such term for all purposes as used both in the Act and in this Part.  Terms defined in the Act and not defined in this Part have the meaning given them in the Act.

 

(Source:  Amended at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

SUBPART B: REGISTRATION OF LOAN BROKERS

 

Section 145.150  Procedures for Registration as a Loan Broker Under Section 15-15 of the Act

 

No person shall be registered as a loan broker unless such person submits a completed application as set forth in this Section.

 

a)         Each applicant for registration as a loan broker shall file with the Secretary of State Securities Department a completed and current application on IL LB Form 15-10 and pay to the Securities Department all appropriate fees as specified in Section 145.2110 of this Part.  The application shall be accompanied by the following:

 

1)         A Consent to Service of Process for the applicant on Illinois Form LB15, unless the applicant is a corporation organized or authorized to transact business under the laws of this State;

 

2)         The disclosure statement required under Section 15-30(b) of the Act or Section 15-30(b)(1) of the Act; and

 

3)         Evidence of the bond required under Section 15-15(b) of the Act consisting of a certificate from the issuing bonding authority.

 

            The Securities Department shall review the application in a timely manner and notify the applicant in writing of any material deficiencies.

 

b)         Upon the grant of registration of a loan broker, the Securities Department shall issue to the loan broker proof of registration as evidence of such registration;

 

c)         The application and documents on file with the Securities Department with respect to the loan broker shall be amended whenever a change occurs which renders the information contained therein not accurate in any material respect. Such amendment shall be filed with the Securities Department within ten business days after the occurrence of the change; and

 

d)         An applicant may request that certain information in its application be kept confidential.  The Securities Department shall honor such request if the information is personal in nature or if public access to the information is not reasonably necessary to further the purposes of the Act.

 

Section 145.151  Procedures for Withdrawal of Pending Application or Termination of Registration as a Loan Broker

 

If a loan broker elects to withdraw its pending application prior to registration in this State, or if a registered loan broker wishes to terminate its registration in this State, it shall provide written notice to the Securities Department indicating such intent.  Any fees paid shall not be returnable in any event.

 

Section 145.152  Procedure with Respect to Abandoning Incomplete Applications for Registration as a Loan Broker

 

a)         When an incomplete application for registration as a loan broker has been on file with the Secretary of State for a period of six months, the Secretary of State may, in his or her discretion, proceed in the following manner to determine whether the application for registration has been abandoned by the applicant.

 

b)         A notice will be sent to the applicant named in the application for registration, by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the most recent address reflected in the application for registration.  The notice will inform the applicant that the application for registration is incomplete and one of the following must be done within 30 days after the date of the Notice:

 

1)         the deficiencies must be corrected and refiled; or

 

2)         written intent to complete, within a specified period, must be filed to comply with the applicable requirements of the Act; or

 

3)         a request must be filed for withdrawal of the pending application.

 

c)         Should the applicant fail to respond to such notice by filing the information or document necessary to correct the deficiencies or withdrawing the application for registration, the Secretary of State shall enter an order declaring the application for registration abandoned.

 

d)         When such an order is entered by the Secretary of State:

 

1)         the filing, examination and registration fees paid upon the filing of the application for registration will not be returned; and

 

2)         the records of the Secretary of State will be marked to indicate that the application for registration was abandoned and the date of the order.

 

e)         The applicant may request an administrative hearing in writing within 15 days after receipt of the Order of Abandonment.  A request for hearing shall set forth the grounds upon which the applicant petitions for a hearing.

 

Section 145.200  Procedures for Renewal of Registration as a Loan Broker Under Section 15-20 of the Act

 

a)         If a registered loan broker wishes to renew its registration, it shall file with the Securities Department a completed and current IL LB Form 15-10 together with the renewal application filing fee and examination fee as specified in Section 145.2110 of this Part.  The Securities Department shall review the renewal application in a timely manner and notify the applicant in writing of any material deficiencies.

 

b)         Any amendment(s) shall also be filed with the Securities Department within ten business days if any material change occurs in the information that was filed with the Securities Department when the loan broker applied for registration.

 

c)         Any application for renewal of registration of a loan broker filed with or fees paid to the Securities Department within 29 days or less prior to the date upon which the registration or renewal would expire shall pay an additional fee set forth in Section 145.2110 of this Part.

 

d)         Upon receipt of the renewal fees the Securities Department shall issue to the loan broker proof of renewal as evidence of such registration.

 

Section 145.300  When Disclosure Statement Must Be Provided (Repealed)

 

(Source:  Repealed at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

 

Section 145.301  Purpose of Disclosure; Substantial Compliance

 

a)         The Secretary of State has determined that the disclosure statement and waiting period requirements of the Act should be interpreted and enforced so as to further the objective of the Act.  That objective is to ensure that borrowers of loan brokers have full disclosure of the material terms in the loan broker's contract with the borrower, have an opportunity to review those terms and, at the borrower's request, have an attorney review the contract.

 

b)         Where a loan broker has reasonably tried to comply with the provisions of this Part, such broker shall be deemed to have complied with Section 15-30 of the Act if the borrower has been provided with all material information required by this Part and has had a reasonable opportunity to review and consider the information, to review the loan broker's contract, and to have the loan broker's contract reviewed by an attorney.

 

c)         The Secretary of State recommends that loan brokers have each borrower sign and date an acknowledgment of receipt when the disclosure statement is provided to the borrower.

 

Section 145.302  Contents of Disclosure Document (Repealed)

 

(Source:  Repealed at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

 

Section 145.303  Providing the Contract With the Disclosure Statement

 

a)         The purpose of the disclosure statement is to provide full information about the material terms of the loan broker's contract with the borrower, therefore, the Secretary of State encourages loan brokers to include a copy of the contract with the disclosure statement. When the contract is provided to the borrower with the disclosure statement, the disclosure statement need not contain either:

 

1)         the full and detailed description of the actual services that the loan broker undertakes to perform; or

 

2)         a specific statement of the  circumstances under which the loan  broker will be entitled to obtain or  retain consideration from the party with  whom the loan broker has entered into a  contract.

 

b)         The following is an example of a cover page which, if prepared as follows and accurate in all material respects, will be deemed to comply with the Act (important:  nothing except the following language in at least 10-point boldface capital letters shall appear on the cover page):

 

1)         DISCLOSURES REQUIRED BY LAW;

 

2)         THE SECRETARY OF STATE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT APPROVE, RECOMMEND, ENDORSE OR SPONSOR ANY LOAN BORKERAGE CONTRACT.  THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DISCLOSURE HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE; AND

 

3)         IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SEE AN ATTORNEY BEFORE YOU SIGN A CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT.

 

c)         The following is an example of page two (this is not a form):

 

The information regarding the Loan Broker's organization, principals, services and fees is being provided in this Disclosure Statement pursuant to the Illinois Loan Brokers Act of 1995 [815 ILCS 175/15-30(b)].

 

THE LOAN BROKER CONTRACT (OR FEE AGREEMENT) IS PROVIDED WITH THIS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT AND IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.

 

READ BOTH THIS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT AND THE CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT CAREFULLY.  YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO HAVE THE CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT REVIEWED BY AN ATTORNEY.

 

Organization
Organization Name:					Type:
Business Name (if different):
Address:
Name(s) under which Loan Broker has done business:
Parents/Affiliates:

 

List of Loan Broker's officers, directors, trustees, general partners, general managers, principal executives and others performing similar duties:

 

President:				Address:
Vice President:				Address:
Principal:				Address:
How long has the Loan Broker conducted business:

 

Services

 

The actual services that the Loan Broker undertakes to perform are set forth in the Loan Broker Contract (or Fee Agreement).  Those are the only services that the Loan Broker is obligated to provide.

 

Borrower's Obligations

 

The circumstances under which you will be obligated to pay the Loan Broker (or the Loan Broker will be permitted to retain money you have paid) are set forth in the Loan Broker Contract (or Fee Agreement).  READ THE CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT CAREFULLY.

 

BORROWER ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

 

I received this Disclosure Statement and a copy of the Loan Broker Contract (or Fee Agreement) on the date set forth below.

 

Date:		Borrower Signature:
Borrower Name (printed):

 

(Source:  Added at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

 

Section 145.304  Providing the Contract to Borrower

 

The borrower shall have the right to retain a copy of the executed contract for the services of a loan broker.  The borrower's copy of the contract shall be provided to the borrower when the contract is executed, if feasible and the borrower so requests.  Otherwise, the contract shall be mailed or otherwise sent to the borrower within one week after the execution thereof.  No account number is required on the borrower's copy of the contract.

SUBPART C: PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

 

Section 145.400  Hearings

 

Any hearing required pursuant to the Act or by this Part shall be held pursuant to 14 Ill. Adm. Code 130, Subpart K:  Procedures For Administrative Hearings.

SUBPART D: RECORDS

 

Section 145.750  Records Required of Loan Brokers

 

a)         Each loan broker agreement or contract shall be given a unique identifying account number and all instruments or documents relating to that agreement or contract must bear this number.  Every loan broker registered by the Secretary of State shall keep and maintain for a period of six years from the date of its agreement or contract with the borrower in the loan broker's principal office in this State the following records:

 

1)         A loan broker agreement or contract register that consists of a chronological listing of all loan broker agreements or contracts that have been entered into.  For each loan broker agreement or contract the register shall contain the following:

 

A)        The account number;

 

B)        The date of the agreement or contract;

 

C)        The name of the borrower;

 

D)        The amount of fees charged, if any; and

 

E)        The cost and type of insurance required, if any.

 

2)         A file for each borrower shall contain the following:

 

A)        The name, address and telephone number of the borrower;

 

B)        A copy of the signed loan broker agreement or contract;

 

C)        A copy of any other papers or instruments used in connection with the loan broker agreement or contract that are signed by the borrower, including a copy of the disclosure document required by Section 15-30 of the Act that contains an acknowledged receipt by the borrower;

 

D)        If a loan was obtained for the borrower, the name, address and telephone number of the lender;

 

E)        If a loan is accepted by the borrower, a copy of the signed loan agreement or contract, if made available to the loan broker; and

 

F)         The amount of the loan broker's fee that the borrower has paid; and, if there is an unpaid balance, the status of any collection efforts.

 

3)         All receipts from or for the account of borrowers and all disbursements to or for the account of borrowers, recorded so that the transactions are readily identifiable.

 

4)         A general ledger that shall be posted at least monthly, and a trial balance sheet and profit and loss statement prepared within 30 days after the Secretary of State's request for information.

 

5)         A copy of the following:

 

A)        All advertisements, pamphlets, circulars, letters, articles or communications used to solicit borrowers that were published in any newspaper, magazine or periodical or transmitted or sent via the non-proprietary, nonprofit, public computer network (commonly known as the "Internet");

 

B)        Scripts of any recording or radio or television announcement used or to be used to solicit borrowers; and

 

C)        Any sales kit or literature used or to be used to solicit borrowers.

 

b)         After a record or other documents have been preserved for two years, an accurate copy on any form of information retrieval device may be substituted therefor for the balance of the required time.

 

c)         All records required to be maintained under this Section or the Act must be separate or readily identifiable from the records of any other business that is conducted in the office of the loan broker.  A written request for a waiver of the provisions of this Section may be made to the Secretary of State to permit any registered loan broker to maintain any of the records required by this Section or the Act outside the State of Illinois.  In determining whether the provisions of this Section should be waived, the Secretary of State shall consider, without limitation, whether the main office of the loan broker is outside the State of Illinois or whether the loan broker uses all or some of the bookkeeping facilities of some other loan broker whose main office is outside the State of Illinois.

SUBPART E: EXEMPTIONS

 

Section 145.800  Previous and Ongoing Agreements or Contracts and Transactions Not Affected

 

All loan broker agreements or contracts and transactions between a loan broker and its borrowers which do not comply with the Act of this part, if entered into prior to January 1, 1996, shall be deemed to be valid and enforceable, notwithstanding this Part or the Act.

 

(Source:  Added at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

 

Section 145.802  Exemption for Franchises

 

Persons registered pursuant to the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act of 1987 [815 ILCS 705] (and their employees) are exempt from the requirements of the Act as to:  offers and sales in connection with such franchising activities; or assisting any of their franchisees in the offer or sale of a franchise by any such franchisee for its own account, regardless of whether the sale is effected by or through such registered persons.

 

Section 145.803  Exemptions from Waiting Period and Disclosure Requirements Pursuant to Section 15-30 of the Act  (Repealed)

 

(Source:  Repealed at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

 

Section 145.805  Exemption for the Designation of Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP)

 

Any individual who has the designation of Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) by the Association for Certified Turnaround Professional, while engaged in the practice of a Certified Turnaround Professional and whose service in relation to the loan broker transaction is incidental to his or her practice, is exempt from the requirements of this Act.

 

(Source:  Added at 22 Ill. Reg. 7233, effective April 15, 1998)

 

Section 145.806  Exemption for Business Broker Agreements or Contracts from the Loan Brokers Act of 1995

 

A business broker agreement or contract, made pursuant to and in compliance with the Illinois Business Brokers Act of 1995 [815 ILCS 307] between a client and a registered business broker, which contains a promise by, or obligation of, a business broker to procure or assist in procuring a loan for business financing or the purchase of a business for the client is exempt from this Act.

SUBPART F: SERVICE OF PROCESS

 

Section 145.1000  Service of Process upon the Secretary of State

 

a)         Any process, notice or demand to be served upon the Secretary of State under the Act shall be made by delivering personally to the Securities Director, or any employee of the Securities Department designated by the Securities Director to accept such service on behalf of the Secretary of State, or by sending by registered mail or certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the process, notice or demand to the Securities Department.  Procedures for service are specified in the Act in the following Sections:

 

1)         Service upon any person who has filed a consent to service of process upon the Secretary of State;

 

2)         Service upon any person who, by virtue of acting as a loan broker in this State which is neither registered nor covered by an exemption from registration, shall have appointed the Secretary of State as agent for service of process; and

 

3)         Service of a copy of a complaint in a private civil action.

 

b)         Service of any process, notice or demand under this Section shall be made at the Springfield or Chicago office of the Securities Department during regular business hours as specified in Section 145.2100 of this Part.

 

c)         At the time of any service upon the Secretary of State there shall be paid a fee in the amount specified in Section 145.2110 of this Part, which shall not be returnable in any event.  Each process, notice or demand shall be submitted with a separate payment.

 

d)         The Securities Department shall keep a record which shall show the date of service of all the processes, notices and demands received.

SUBPART G: EVIDENTIARY MATTERS AND NON-BINDING STATEMENTS

 

Section 145.1200  Request for Non-Binding Statements

 

a)         Required Information and Format.

 

1)         All requests for non-binding statements shall be in writing and be accompanied by the fee set forth in Section 145.2110 of this Part.  The request shall be filed with the Securities Department and shall contain the following:

 

A)        A brief summary of the Sections of the Act and of the Rules to which the request pertains;

 

B)        A detailed factual representation concerning every relevant aspect of the proposed transaction, such as the names of affected parties, details regarding the transactions, each claim of exemption, if any, and reasoning in support of each such claim.  Requests should be limited to the particular situation, and should not attempt to include every possible type of situation which may arise in the future;

 

C)        A discussion of current statutes, rules and legal principles relevant to the facts set forth;

 

D)        A statement setting forth the person's own opinion in the matter and the basis for such opinion; and

 

E)        A representation that the transaction in question has not been commenced and will not commence for at least 30 days.

 

2)         The Securities Department will not respond to requests for non-binding statements involving the anti-fraud provisions of the Act or the Rules.

 

3)         The Securities Department will not respond to requests for non-binding statements with respect to transactions which have already taken place.

 

4)         The Securities Department will not respond to requests based upon hypothetical facts or involving unnamed parties.

 

b)         Review procedure.  After a review of the relevant facts presented, in light of existing judicial, legislative and administrative history, the Securities Department may issue its finding as to the applicability of the Act to the situation presented in the form of a non-binding statement stating that it will recommend that no enforcement action be initiated against the parties involved if all the facts are true and complete.  Facts or conditions different than those presented may require different conclusions and persons other than those requesting the statement should not rely on the statement.

 

c)         Availability of non-binding statements issued by the Department.

 

1)         The Securities Department will maintain a chronological index by statutory section(s) involving all non-binding statements issued.

 

2)         Copies of such statements may be reviewed in the Securities Department's Springfield office and copies thereof may be obtained upon payment of the cost of duplication as set forth in Section 145.2110 of this Part.

SUBPART H: PUBLIC INFORMATION

 

Section 145.1400  Inspection of Loan Broker Records

 

Records of all registered loan brokers are available for public inspection during the business hours at the Springfield or Chicago office of the Securities Department of the Secretary of State upon written request.

 

Section 145.1401  Non-Public Distribution of Information

 

Information or documents obtained by employees of the Secretary of State in the course of any examination or investigation pursuant to Section 15-45 of the Act shall, unless made a matter of public record, be deemed confidential. Employees are hereby prohibited from making such confidential information or documents or any other non-public records of the Secretary of State available to anyone other than an employee of the Secretary of State, or other governmental agency, unless the Secretary of State authorizes the disclosure of such information or the production of such documents as not being contrary to the public interest.

SUBPART I: RULES OF GENERAL APPLICATION

 

Section 145.2100  Business Hours of the Securities Department

 

a)         The principal office of the Securities Department at Jefferson Terrace, Suite 300A, 300 W. Jefferson Street, Springfield IL 62702 is open each day, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Savings Time, whichever is currently in effect in Springfield.

 

b)         An office of the Securities Department at 69 West Washington Street, Suite 1220, Chicago, Illinois 60602  is open each day, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Savings Time, whichever is currently in effect in Chicago.

 

(Source:  Amended at 33 Ill. Reg. 12845, effective September 8, 2009)

 

Section 145.2101  Computation of Time

 

The time within which an act under the Illinois Loan Broker Act of 1995, [815 ILCS 175] shall be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday as defined or fixed in any statute now or hereafter in force in this State, and then it shall also be excluded.  If the day succeeding such Saturday, Sunday or holiday is also a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, then such succeeding day shall also be excluded.

 

Section 145.2110   Payment of Fees

 

a)         Fees under the Act are as follows:

 

Section 15-15
Application Filing Fee	$300
Examination Fee	$50
Registration Fee	$10
Section 15-20
Renewal Application Filing Fee	$300
Examination Fee	$50
Renewal Late Fee	$100*
Loan Broker Fee to report a change in its form of organization or change of its name	$20
Service of Process (when served upon the Secretary of State)	$10
Section 15-50
Certificate	$10
Certified Copy of Document	$10 plus
Each Page Certified	$    .50
Non-Binding Statement	$75
Duplication of Documents
Each Page Duplicated	$    .50
Additional fee for payment of fee returned to the Securities Department due to insufficient funds or for a similar reason	$50

 

*If the renewal application is filed within 29 days preceding the expiration of the current registration.

 

b)         All payments of fees, except for payment of administrative fines under the Act, as set forth below, shall be made by check, money order, certified check, bank cashier's check, or indicia of forms of electronic transfer of funds payable to the "Secretary of State".  No third party check or money order endorsed over to the Secretary of State shall be accepted as payment of any fee.  All payments for administrative fines, except for a person registered under Section 15-15 or 15-20 of the Act shall be made by money order, certified check or bank cashier's check.

 

c)         Any person whose payment of fees is returned to the Securities Department due to insufficient funds or for a similar reason shall pay to the Secretary of State the amount of fee owed plus an additional fee as set forth in this Section for each payment returned.  This fee shall include the fee required by 5 ILCS 290/10.

 

d)         The Secretary of State shall require any person to make payment of fees in the form of a money order, certified check or bank money order if any previous payment of fees has been returned to the Securities Department due to insufficient funds or for a similar reason.

 

e)         All payment of fees under the Act shall be deemed to be filed and the fees paid upon receipt by the Securities Department, provided that the fee paid is not less or more than five dollars of the amount due.

 

Section 145.2120  Place of Filing

 

All applications for registration or exemption from registration and other papers filed with the Securities Department or the Secretary of State pursuant to the Act shall be filed at Springfield or Chicago, Illinois.  Such material may be filed by delivery to the Securities Department, through the mail or otherwise.

 

Section 145.2130  Date of Filing

 

a)         The date of filing of any document required to be filed with the Securities Department shall be the date of delivery of the document and any required fee to the Securities Department in Springfield or Chicago, Illinois, as specified in Section 145.2120 of this Part, or if a document or fee is sent by United States registered mail, certified mail or certificate of mailing, a record authenticated by the United States Postal Service of such registration, certification or certificate shall be considered competent evidence that the document or fee was mailed on the date shown on the record.

 

b)         A document may not be deemed to be filed with the Secretary of State unless all requirements of the Act and this Part with respect to such filing have been complied with and the required fee has been paid.

 

Section 145.2140  Requirements as to Proper Form

 

Any document filed with the Securities Department pursuant to the Act shall be prepared in accordance with the form, if any, prescribed by the Securities Department.  Any such document shall be deemed to be filed on the proper form unless objection to the form is made by the Securities Department.

 

Section 145.2141  Additional Information

 

In addition to the information expressly required to be included in an application for registration, the applicant shall include other material information which may be necessary to make the required statements truthful.

 

Section 145.2143  Information Unknown or Not Reasonably Available

 

Information required need be given only insofar as it is known or reasonably available to the applicant.  If any required information is unknown and not reasonably available to the applicant, either due to unreasonable effort or expense, or because it rests within the knowledge of another person not affiliated with the applicant, the information may be omitted, subject to the following conditions:

 

a)         The applicant shall give such information on the subject as it possesses or can acquire without unreasonable effort or expense, together with the sources thereof.

 

b)         The applicant shall include a statement either showing that unreasonable effort or expense would be involved or indicating the absence of any affiliation with the person within whose knowledge the information rests and stating the result of a request made to the person for the information.

 

Section 145.2144  Requirements as to Paper, Printing and Language

 

a)         Application for registration shall be filed on good quality, unglazed, white paper, 8˝ by 11 inches in size, insofar as practicable.

 

b)         The application for registration, and all papers and documents filed as a part thereof, shall be printed, lithographed, mimeographed or typewritten. However, the application or any portion thereof may be prepared by any similar process which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, produces copies suitable for permanent record.  All copies of the material shall be clear, easily readable and suitable for repeated photocopying.

 

c)         The application for registration shall be in the English language.  If any exhibit or other paper or document filed with the application for registration is in a foreign language, it shall be accompanied by a translation into the English language.

 

Section 145.2145  Number of Copies – Signatures

 

a)         One copy of the completed application for registration, manually signed by the applicant, including exhibits and all other papers, if any, and documents filed as a part of the application, shall be filed with the Securities Department.

 

b)         If any name is signed to the application for registration pursuant to a power of attorney, a copy of the power of attorney shall be filed with the application for registration.  In addition, in the case of a corporate applicant, if the name of any officer signing on behalf of the applicant, or attesting to the applicant's seal, is signed pursuant to a power of attorney, a copy of a resolution of the applicant's board of directors authorizing the signature shall be filed with the application for registration.

 

Section 145.2190  Provisions for Granting of Variance from Rules

 

The Secretary of State or his or her designee may grant variances from this Part in individual cases where he or she determines that:

 

a)         the provisions from which the variance is granted is not statutorily mandated;

 

b)         no party will be injured by granting the variance; and

 

c)         the Section from which the variance is granted would, in the particular case, be unnecessarily burdensome.