Section 1450.100  Definitions

Unless otherwise clarified by this Part, definitions set forth in the Act also apply for purposes of this Part.

"Act" means the Real Estate License Act of 2000 [225 ILCS 454].

"Advisory Council" means the Real Estate Education Advisory Council created by Section 30-10 of the Act. 

"Affidavit of Non-participation" means a sworn statement made by an unlicensed person associated with or an owner of a licensed real estate corporation, limited liability company, partnership or limited partnership attesting that the unlicensed person is not actively directing or engaging in real estate activities as part of that association or ownership.

"Board" means the Real Estate Administration and Disciplinary Board created by Section 25-10 of the Act.

"Certificate of registration" means the document issued by the Division indicating approval of a continuing education course for which CE credit can be granted.

"Compliance agreement" means an agreement entered into between a licensee and the Division in conjunction with an administrative warning letter.

"Credit hour" means classroom attendance for a minimum of 50 minutes of lecture or its equivalent through a distance education program approved by the Division.

"Department" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

"Director" means the Director of the Division of Professional Regulation with the authority delegated by the Secretary.

"Discipline" means a refusal to issue or renew a license, probation, suspension or revocation of a license, reprimand, fine or any other sanction explicitly provided for in the Act.

"Division" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation-Division of Professional Regulation.

"Electronic signature" means a signature in electronic form attached to or logically associated with an electronic record. [5 ILCS 175/5-105]

"Interactive delivery method" means live instruction and real time discussion via satellite, video, online via webcam or similar communication that occurs between the instructor and students in real estate courses approved by the Real Estate Education Advisory Council. (See Section 5-27(a)(5) of the Act.)

"Managing broker" means, prior to May 1, 2011, a broker and, after April 30, 2011, a broker or licensed managing broker who has supervisory responsibilities for licensees in one or, in the case of a multi-office company, more than one office and who has been appointed as such by the sponsoring broker.   All licensees acting as a managing broker or self-sponsored broker after April 30, 2012 must have a managing broker license or obtain one within 90 days after being named a managing broker. Refer to the definition of sponsoring broker. 

"Moral turpitude" means conduct that is inherently base, depraved or vile.

"Office" means a real estate broker's place of business where the general public is invited to transact business, from which sponsored licensees work and where records may be maintained and licenses displayed, whether or not it is the broker's principal place of business. When determining whether an office exists, the following shall be considered by the Division:

An office is any business location or structure that is owned, controlled, operated or maintained by a person who, at that location or structure, is:

engaging in licensed activities;

offering real estate services to consumers;

holding out to the public that the person is engaged in the practice of real estate brokerage;

maintaining original real estate documents and records related to active or pending transactions;

maintaining current escrow records; or

meeting consumers for the purpose of engaging in real estate licensed activities.

The following places do not constitute an office:

a motor vehicle primarily used for transportation;

a place whose purpose is solely devoted to advertising real estate matters of a general nature or to making a sponsoring broker's business name generally known;

a place that a licensee uses solely for storage or archiving of records; or

a licensee's residence unless held out to the public as a location at which real estate brokerage services are available to the public.

A licensee engaged in the practice of real estate brokerage shall maintain an office.  If the licensee is sponsored by another, then the office shall be the office of the sponsoring broker.

A post office box, mail drop location, or other similar facility shall not constitute an office, so long as none of the activities described in this definition take place at this facility.

"Proctor" means any person, including, but not limited to, an instructor, who has a written agreement to administer examinations fairly and impartially with a licensed pre-license school or a licensed continuing education school. Proctoring may be by electronic means.

"School branch" means a location where a pre-license school provides instruction other than the sponsoring school's principal location.

"Semester hours" shall be converted into quarter hours at a ratio of 2 semester hours to 3 quarter hours.

"Sole owner" when used to describe a licensee means a licensee who has a 100% ownership interest alone, has ownership as a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, or holds 100% beneficial interest in a land trust.

"Sponsoring broker" means the broker or managing broker who has issued a sponsor card to a salesperson, a broker, a licensed managing broker or a leasing agent, or is self-sponsored.

There shall be only one sponsoring broker for any one real estate company. According to this definition, the sponsoring broker is the entity holding the company real estate license, whether the entity is an individual who operates as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation or registered limited liability partnership.

The entity that is the sponsoring broker for the real estate company may delegate its duties in accordance with company policy to appropriate company personnel authorized to act and sign on behalf of the sponsoring broker.

Some examples include, but are not limited to:

the sponsoring broker could authorize a managing broker for the company to sign sponsor cards in the name of the sponsoring broker;

the sponsoring broker could authorize a qualified company employee or independent contractor to oversee bookkeeping duties relative to the sponsoring broker's escrow account;

the sponsoring broker may delegate authorized signers for the escrow account to sign on behalf of the sponsoring broker; and

the sponsoring broker may delegate to authorized company personnel the ability to sign contracts entered into by the sponsoring broker in accordance with the sponsoring broker's company policy.