Section 7070.40  Action by Commission

a)         Upon presentation of Settlement Contracts or Petitions for Lump Sum Settlement, the Commission shall, after hearing or otherwise, either "approve" or "reject" the Contract or Petition for Lump Sum Settlement.  If rejected, the Settlement Contract or the Petition for Lump Settlement shall remain in the Commission file to accompany the application filed, or any to be filed, for the accidental injuries alleged in the Contract or Petition, until the case is assigned to an Arbitrator for hearing.  At that time the Rejected Settlement Contract shall be removed from the file and kept in a separate file until a final award has been entered by the Commission.  In no event shall that case be assigned to any Arbitrator who has previously rejected a Settlement Contract presented in that case.

b)         Where a Settlement Contract has been rejected by an Arbitrator and the venue of said case lies outside Cook County, it shall be the duty of the Arbitrator to return said file to the Industrial Commission, whose function it shall be to transfer the said case to a new Arbitrator in the nearest contiguous geographical territory, and the Industrial Commission shall notify all parties of the time, place and date pertinent thereto.

c)         Where a Settlement Contract has been rejected by an Arbitrator and the venue of said case lies in Cook County, it shall be the duty of the Arbitrator to notify the Industrial Commission, whose function it shall be to transfer said case to a new Arbitrator chosen randomly from all Arbitrators located in Cook County.

(Source:  Rule 7(4) (now Section 7070.40) renumbered from Rule 7(5) and amended at 6 Ill. Reg. 8040, effective July 1, 1982)