225 ILCS 316/85

(225 ILCS 316/85)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)

Sec. 85. Grounds for discipline.

(a) The Department may refuse to issue or to renew a certificate of registration, or may revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or take other disciplinary or nondisciplinary action the Department may deem proper, including fines not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, with regard to any certificate of registration issued under this Act, for any one or combination of the following reasons:

(1) Material misstatement in furnishing information.

(2) Negligent or intentional disregard of this Act or rules adopted under this Act.

(3) Conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere, finding of guilt, jury verdict, or entry of judgment or sentencing, including, but not limited to, convictions, preceding sentences of supervision, conditional discharge, or first offender probation under the laws of any jurisdiction of the United States that is (i) a felony, (ii) a misdemeanor, an essential element of which is dishonesty, or (iii) any crime that is directly related to the practice of landscape architecture.

(4) Making any misrepresentations for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of registration.

(5) Professional incompetence or gross negligence in the rendering of landscape architectural services.

(6) Aiding or assisting another person in violating any provision of this Act or any rules and regulations issued pursuant to this Act.

(7) Failing to provide information within 60 days in response to a written request made by the Department.

(8) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public.

(9) Habitual or excessive use or abuse of drugs defined by law as controlled substances, alcohol, narcotics, stimulants, or any other substances that results in the inability to practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.

(10) Discipline by another jurisdiction, if at least one of the grounds for the discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to those set forth in this Section.

(11) Directly or indirectly giving to or receiving from any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association any fee, commission, rebate, or other form of compensation for any professional service not actually rendered.

(12) A finding by the Department that the registrant, after having the registration placed on probationary status, has violated or failed to comply with the terms of probation.

(13) A finding by the Department that the registrant has failed to pay a fine imposed by the Department.

(14) Being named as a perpetrator in an indicated report by the Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that the registrant has caused a child to be an abused child or neglected child as defined in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

(15) Solicitation of professional services by using false or misleading advertising.

(16) Inability to practice the profession with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety as a result of physical illness, including, but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process, loss of motor skill, mental illness, or disability.

(17) Using or attempting to use an expired, inactive, suspended, or revoked registration, or the seal of another registrant, or impersonating another registrant.

(18) Signing, affixing, or allowing the registered landscape architect's seal to be affixed to any plans not prepared by the registered landscape architect or under the registered landscape architect's supervision.

(b) The Department may refuse to issue or may suspend the registration of any person who fails to file a return, fails to pay the tax, penalty, or interest showing in a filed return, or fails to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest, as required by any tax Act administered by the Department of Revenue, until any such tax Act are satisfied.

(c) The entry of a decree by any circuit court establishing that any person holding a certificate of registration under this Act is a person subject to involuntary admission under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code shall operate as a suspension of that registration. That person may resume using the title "registered landscape architect" or "landscape architect" only upon a finding by the Department that he or she has been determined to be no longer subject to involuntary admission by the court and meeting the requirements for restoration as required by this Act and its rules.

(Source: P.A. 102-284, eff. 8-6-21.)