Section 130.1112  Rules of Evidence

a)         The Hearing Officer shall have authority to conduct the hearing, to administer oaths, to examine witnesses, to rule upon the admissibility of evidence, and to subpoena witnesses or documents at the request of any party.

b)         Irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.  The rules of evidence and privilege as applied in civil cases in the Circuit Courts of this State shall be followed.  However, evidence not admissible under such rules of evidence may be admitted (except where precluded by statute) if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent men in the conduct of their affairs in accordance with Section 10-40 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 127, par. 1010-40).  Objections to evidentiary offers may be made and shall be noted in the record.  Subject to these requirements, when a hearing will be expedited and the interests of the parties will not be prejudiced, any part of the evidence maybe received in written form.  Subject to the evidentiary requirements of this Section, a party may conduct cross-examination required for a full and fair disclosure of the facts.

c)         Notice may be taken of matters of which the Circuit Courts of this State may take judicial notice.  In addition, notice may be taken of generally recognized technical or scientific facts within the agency's specialized knowledge.  Parties shall be notified either before or during the hearing, or be reference in preliminary reports or otherwise, of the material noticed, including any staff memoranda or data, and they shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed.  The agency's experience, technical competence and specialized knowledge may be utilized in the evaluation of the evidence.

(Source:  Section 130.1112 renumbered from Section 130.1111 and amended at 14 Ill. Reg. 5188, effective March 26, 1990)