All hearings provided for in Section 8-5 of this Act shall be held in the county wherein the licensee has his principal place of business; provided, that if the licensee does not have his or her principal place of business in this State, such hearing shall be held in Sangamon County.
The Circuit Court of the county wherein any hearing is held by the Department shall have power to review all final administrative decisions of the Department in administering the provisions of this Act. If the administrative proceeding which is to be reviewed judicially is a claim for refund proceeding commenced in accordance with Section 8-3 of this Act and Section 2a of "An Act in relation to the payment and disposition of moneys received by officers and employees of the State of Illinois by virtue of their office or employment", approved June 9, 1911, as amended, the Circuit Court having jurisdiction of the proceeding for judicial review under this Section and under the Administrative Review Law, as amended, shall be the same court that entered the injunction which is provided for in Section 2a of "An Act in relation to the payment and disposition of moneys received by officers and employees of the State of Illinois by virtue of their office or employment", and which enables such claim proceeding to be processed and disposed of as a claim for refund proceeding rather than as a claim for credit proceeding.
The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and modifications thereof, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto, shall apply to and govern all proceedings for the judicial review of final administrative decisions of the Department hereunder. The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Service of summons issued in such review proceeding upon the Director of Revenue or the Assistant Director of Revenue of the Department of Revenue shall be service upon the Department. The Department shall certify the record of its proceedings if the licensee shall pay to it the sum of 75 [cents] per page of testimony taken before the Department and 25 [cents] per page of all other matters contained in such record, except that these charges may be waived where the Department is satisfied that the aggrieved party is a poor person who cannot afford to pay such charges. Provided, however, before the delivery of such record to the person applying for same, the payment therefor shall be made as hereinabove provided, and in the event of nonpayment for the record as hereinabove provided within 30 days after notice that such record is available, the complaint may be dismissed by the court upon motion of the Department.
No stay order shall be entered by the Circuit Court unless the plaintiff in the review proceedings shall file with the court a bond in an amount fixed and approved by the court to indemnify the State against all loss and injury which may be sustained by it on account of the review proceedings and to secure all costs which may be occasioned by such proceedings.
Whenever notice is required by this Act, such notice may be given by United States registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, addressed to the person concerned at his or her last known address, and proof of such mailing shall be sufficient for the purposes of this Act.
Whenever any proceeding provided by this Act is commenced before the Department, either by the Department or by a person subject to this Act, and such person thereafter dies or becomes a person under legal disability before such proceeding is concluded, the legal representative of the deceased or the guardian of the person under legal disability shall notify the Department of such death or legal disability. The legal representative, as such, shall then be substituted by the Department for such person. If the legal representative fails to notify the Department of his or her appointment as such legal representative, the Department may, upon its own motion, substitute such legal representative in the proceeding pending before the Department for the person who died or became a person under legal disability.
235 ILCS 5/8-7