Section 1700.20  Public Comment through the Commission's Website and by Telephone

a)         Any Illinois resident may comment regarding any matter under the auspices of the Commission or before the Commission through the Commission's website (www.icc.illinois.gov) or through a toll-free telephone number.  All persons making comments must provide their name and the city, village, or other locality in Illinois in which they reside.  In addition, persons commenting through the Commission's website must provide their e-mail address for verification purposes, although the e-mail address will not be posted publicly.  Comments made on the Commission's website, or transcribed comments made by phone, may not be longer than 5,000 characters.

b)         Comments received through the Commission website will be reviewed to ensure that their content does not contain links to website addresses and is not obscene, profane, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate for public posting.  A person whose comment is rejected because it contains links to other website addresses shall be given the opportunity to recast the comment so that it can be posted. All comments regarding formal proceedings before the Commission will be publicly posted in the section of e-Docket designed to display public comments, along with the name and locality of residence of the person making the comment.

c)         Comments received through the Commission's toll-free telephone number will be transcribed, and will not be publicly posted if their content contains links to website addresses or is obscene, profane, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate for public posting.  A person whose comment is rejected because it contains links to other website addresses shall be given the opportunity to recast the comment so that it can be posted.  Comments regarding formal proceedings before the Commission will be publicly posted in the section of e-Docket designed to display public comments, along with the name and locality of residence of the person making the comment.

d)         In formal proceedings before the Commission in which public comments have been posted on e-Docket, the Administrative Law Judge in the case or another Commission employee designated by the Executive Director will report the comments that have been posted to the full Commission, before the Commission votes on the matter.  Parties to a formal proceeding before the Commission may respond to public comments by filing their own comments in the same section of e-Docket. 

e)         Public comments received through the Commission's website or toll-free number that pertain to a matter that is before the Commission other than as a formal docketed proceeding will be forwarded to the Commission Staff member or members responsible for presenting the matter to the Commission, who will report the comments to the full Commission before the Commission votes on the matter.

(Source:  Amended at 36 Ill. Reg. 14508, effective October 1, 2012)