Section 450.110  Applicability

This Part herein published by the Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety, Bureau of Safety Programs, Commercial Vehicle Safety Section, shall govern the practices and procedures of all hearings conducted by the Division of Traffic Safety, Bureau of Safety Programs, Commercial Vehicle Safety Section.

(Source:  Amended at 18 Ill. Reg. 14758, effective September 20, 1994)

Section 450.120  Definitions

As used herein, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

            The term "Act" means the Illinois Vehicle Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 95½, pars. 1-1 et seq.) [625 ILCS 5];

            The term "Department" means the Department of Transportation of the State of Illinois;

            The term "Hearing Officer" means a person duly qualified and designated as a hearing officer under Section 450.230 of this Part;

            The term "Permit" means a grant of privilege to a person by the Department of Transportation to operate an Official Testing Station as set forth in Section 13-103 of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 95½, par. 13-103) [625 ILCS 5 /13-103];

            The term "Person" means any person defined in Section 1-159 of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 95½, par. 1-159) [625 ILCS 5/1-159];

            The term "Regulations" means the published rules and regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety, Bureau of Safety Programs, Commercial Vehicle Safety Section, relating to the lawful, proper operation of an Official Testing Station;

            The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Transportation;

            The term "Testing Station" means any official, certified vehicular testing station as set forth in Section 13-103 of the Act.

(Source:  Amended at 18 Ill. Reg. 14758, effective September 20, 1994)

Section 450.130  Filing

Documents required to be filed with the Department of Transportation shall be addressed to and mailed to or filed with the Director, Division of Traffic Safety, Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 19212, 3215 Executive Park Drive Springfield, Illinois 62794-9212.

(Source:  Amended at 18 Ill. Reg. 14758, effective September 20, 1994)

Section 450.140  Form

a)         Except as may otherwise be provided herein, two (2) copies of all documents including complaints, motions, petitions and notices of appeal shall be filed with the Director of the Division of Traffic Safety and shall bear the docket number and the title of the proceeding in connection with which they are filed.

b)         All documents shall be typewritten or reproduced from typewritten copy on unglazed white paper measuring 8½" x 11", and shall be signed by the party making such filing or his authorized representative or attorney.

Section 450.150  Appearances

Any person either involved in or entitled to participate in proceedings may appear as follows:

a)         A natural person may appear in his own behalf or by an attorney at law licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, or both;

b)         A business, non-profit or governmental organization may appear by any officer, employee, or representative, or may be represented by an attorney licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, or both;

c)         Any attorney appearing in a representative capacity shall file a written notice of appearance.

Section 450.160  Complaint Relating to Violations of the Act or of the Regulations

Complaints shall be delivered in writing either personally or by certified United States Mail to the person, business, corporation, or agency charged with responsibility for such violation.  Certification of any safety lane may not be withdrawn unless the person, agency, business or corporation operating said safety lane is granted a hearing in conformance with Section 13-108 of the Act or unless said safety lane operator voluntarily waives a hearing within twenty (20) days from the date notice of the violation is given to the operator by the Department.

Section 450.170  Filing of Responsive Pleadings

Responsive pleadings in answer to the notice and complaint which have been filed and served upon a party defendant in accordance with Section 450.160 shall be filed with the Director of the Division of Traffic Safety of the Department of Transportation.

Section 450.180  Waiver of Hearing

Persons not desiring a hearing on the issues or charges alleged in the complaint, but who do not wish to be found in default on the complaint, may file a voluntary waiver of hearing setting forth the fact of the waiver.

Section 450.190  Effect of Waiver of Hearing

Persons filing a voluntary waiver of hearing may subject themselves to a ruling by the Secretary resulting in a suspension or revocation of their permit subject to the discretion of the Secretary after all the allegations have been reviewed by the Secretary.

Section 450.210  Notice

Notice of violation of either the Act or the regulations shall be given in a manner prescribed by Section 13-108 of the Act and will be a part of the Illinois Uniform Citation & Complaint form, referred to herein below (See Appendix), and shall include a time and place for hearing, which shall be at a time not less than thirty (30) days after the date on which notice was received by the respondent.

Section 450.220  Place of Hearings

Hearings for alleged violation(s) of either the Act or 92 Ill. Adm. Code, Chapter I, Subchapter (e) or both occurring in Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Henry, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Rock Island, Stephenson, Whiteside, Will, and Winnebago Counties shall be held at the offices of the Department at 201 West Center Court, Schaumburg, Illinois.  Hearings for alleged violation(s) of either the Act or 92 Ill. Adm. Code, Chapter I, Subchapter (e) or both occurring in Alexander, Clay, Clinton, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White and Williamson Counties shall be held at the offices of the Department at 2801 West Murphysboro Road, Carbondale, Illinois.  Hearings for alleged violation(s) of either the Act or 92 Ill. Adm. Code, Chapter I, Subchapter (e) or both occurring in any other county shall be held at the Department's offices located at 3215 Executive Park Drive, Springfield, Illinois.

(Source:  Amended at 18 Ill. Reg. 14758, effective September 20, 1994)

Section 450.230  Hearing Officer

The hearing officer, who shall be appointed in accordance with the Act by the Secretary of Transportation, shall conduct all hearings and take any and all necessary action to avoid delay, maintain order, and to insure development of a complete record.  He shall have all the powers necessary but not limited to the following:

a)         Require prior submission of expert testimony and exhibits in writing;

b)         Require all parties to state their position with respect to the complaint;

c)         Administer oaths and affirmations;

d)         Examine witnesses and direct witnesses to testify;

e)         Regulate the course of the hearing;

f)         Rule on all matters of evidence and procedure and make findings of fact and law;

g)         Issue subpoenas to compel attendance of a witness at a hearing;

h)         Make a finding of fact and law which shall become a part of the record and which shall be forwarded to the Secretary for final disposition.

Section 450.240  Transcript

Any and all testimony of whatever nature shall be recorded by a certified court reporter and shall be recorded verbatim.

Section 450.310  Notice

All proceedings undertaken by the Department shall be commenced by the service of a notice and complaint upon all respondents and the filing of copies of said notices of complaint with the Director; providing, however, all filings are to be made within the times hereinabove set forth.

Section 450.320  Contents of Complaint

The complaint shall be in the form provided by the Illinois Uniform Citation and Complaint form, and shall contain:

a)         A statement of the date, time and location where the hearing shall be held;

b)         A reference to the provisions of the Act or the regulations of which the respondents are alleged to be in violation;

c)         A statement of the relief which the complainant seeks.

Section 450.330  Motions and Answers

Any respondent may file an answer not later than ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing.  All motions preliminary to a hearing shall be presented to the Director at least ten (10) days prior to the date of said hearing except when said time requirement is excused by the Director.

Section 450.340  Motions to be in Writing

All motions shall be in writing and be accompanied by any affidavits or other evidence relied upon in said motion unless the motion is made orally on the record during the course of a hearing.

Section 450.350  Appearance

A respondent may participate in the proceedings without forfeiting any jurisdictional objection, if such objection is raised at or before the time the respondent files his initial pleading or motion, or, if no pleading or motion is made, before the commencement of a hearing; otherwise appearance either for purposes of motions or otherwise pleading shall subject the respondent to the full jurisdiction of the hearing officer.

Section 450.360  Intervention

Upon timely written application, the hearing officer shall allow any person to intervene in a revocation or suspension proceeding, subject to the necessity for conducting an orderly and expeditious hearing, when either of the following conditions is met:

a)         When the applicant is so situated that he may be adversely affected by a final order of the Secretary;

b)         When an applicant's claim or defense and the hearing proceeding have a question of law or fact.

Section 450.370  Filing

Two (2) copies of a Petition for Intervention shall be filed with the Director and one (1) copy served on each party not later than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the date set for hearing of the matters set forth in the complaint. The hearing officer may permit a later intervention when there is good cause for the delay.

Section 450.380  Rights

Upon receiving permission by the hearing officer to act as intervenor, the intervenor shall enjoy any and all rights inuring to an original party in the hearing provided, however, that the hearing officer may order the intervenor to be bound by any rulings made by the hearing officer prior to the time of intervention which may affect the issues to be considered after the hearing.

Section 450.390  Continuances

All motions for continuances must be made in writing and shall be granted where the hearing officer is satisfied that to deny a motion for continuance would result in an inequitable and unreasonable hardship to the movant.

Section 450.410  Order of Hearings

All hearings shall proceed in the following order:

a)         Opening statements by the parties with the complainant having the right to open;

b)         The complainant's case in chief;

c)         The respondent's case in chief;

d)         Complainant's rebuttal case;

e)         Respondent's closing arguments;

f)         Complainant's closing arguments.

Section 450.420  Discovery

a)         Upon written motion by any party, the hearing officer, in order to allow each party a fair opportunity to prepare for the hearing, shall allow discovery of the following:

1)         Production of any documents including business records relating to the issues in the complaint;

2)         Depositions of any parties or witnesses;

3)         Written interrogatories of any parties or witnesses.

b)         All depositions or interrogatories may be used for purposes of impeachment and as admissions of the deposed or interrogated party.  Where a party or a witness is unable to attend the hearing for a good cause such as age, infirmity, absence from the country, or for any other good cause being shown, the parties may move the hearing officer to allow depositions of interrogatories to be used as evidence.

Section 450.430  Default

Where there has been proper notice of a hearing, the failure of any party to appear at the appointed time set for hearing, or the failure of any party to properly plead after due notice has been given, shall subject the party to be ruled in default by the hearing officer.  Upon good cause being shown, however, within thirty (30) days of the entry of a default upon any party, the hearing officer, after due consideration of the grounds excusing the defaulted party, may order the default judgement to be vacated and set aside, and may order a new hearing.

Section 450.510  Final Orders

Upon the hearing of all of the evidence and upon due consideration of any and all motions filed, and after being fully advised in the premises, the hearing officer shall make a full and complete written finding of fact and law.  Said finding, which shall be set forth as the hearing officer's findings and recommendations, together with the verbatim transcript of the proceedings, shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the receipt of transcript by the hearing officer with the Secretary.  The Secretary shall then make a final determination of the issues involved and shall within twenty (20) days after receipt of the hearing officer's opinion inform all parties in writing of his determination.  Said determination shall constitute a final order.  A copy of the verbatim transcript and hearing officer's findings and recommendations shall accompany the final order furnished all parties of record.

Section 450.610  View of Testing Station

Upon the timely motion of any party or upon the hearing officer's own motion, the hearing officer may view the official testing station which is the subject of the complaint.

Section 450.620  Judicial Notice

Judicial notice may be taken of any and all facts which may be normally allowed if taken in a Circuit Court of the State of Illinois and which are within the knowledge and experience of the hearing officer.

Section 450.630  Subpoena

Upon timely application to the Director by any party, or on the motion of the hearing officer, the hearing officer may issue a subpoena for attendance at a hearing held under these rules, as well as at a deposition held pursuant to these rules which deposition may include an order to produce books, records or other tangible items of an evidentiary nature necessary to the disposition of the issues raised in the complaint; provided, however, that upon a showing of the unreasonableness or irrevelancy of a subpoena which may be quashed by the hearing officer.

Section 450.640  Appeal

Appeal of any final order entered by the Secretary shall be made in accordance with the Administrative Review Law of the State of Illinois (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 110, par. 3-101 et seq.).

Section 450.APPENDIX A   Illinois Citation and Complaint