Section 125.272  Order of Public Hearing

a)         In the event that the Board orders a public hearing, the Board shall, as Section 9-21 of the Election Code requires, appoint a Hearing Officer to conduct a public hearing on the complaint and shall immediately serve upon all parties a written Notice of Appointment of the Hearing Officer, stating the name, business address and telephone number of the Hearing Officer, together with a copy of the Board's order after the closed preliminary hearing.  If the complaint is filed within 60 days preceding the date of an election in reference to which the complaint is filed, the General Counsel also shall promptly give telephonic, e-mail or facsimile notice of the appointment to all parties and that notice shall be deemed supplementary to the written Notice of Appointment.

b)         The Hearing Officer shall, in accordance with the time constraints stated in Section 9-21 of the Election Code, designate a time and place for the public hearing and shall serve a written Notice of Hearing upon all parties, stating the time and place of the hearing.  If the complaint is filed within 60 days preceding the date of an election in reference to which the complaint is filed, the Hearing Officer also shall promptly give telephonic notice of the hearing to all parties, which shall be deemed supplementary to the written Notice of Hearings.

c)         The Notice of Hearing shall contain a statement that the respondents have the right to be represented by legal counsel in any proceeding conducted by the State Board of Elections, including public hearing proceedings.

(Source:  Amended at 35 Ill. Reg. 2351, effective February 4, 2011)