a) Upon his or her own motion or the motion of a party, the hearing officer shall direct the parties or their counsel to conduct a pre-hearing conference in order to:
- 1) Simplify the factual and legal issues presented by the hearing request;
- 2) Receive stipulations and admissions of fact and of the contents and authenticity of documents;
- 3) Exchange lists of all witnesses the parties intend to have testify and copies of all documents the parties intend to introduce into evidence at the hearing; and
- 4) Discuss and resolve such other matters as may tend to expedite the disposition of the hearing request and to assure a just conclusion.
- b) Pre-hearing conferences may be held by telephone conference at the discretion of the hearing officer.
(Source: Added at 37 Ill. Reg. 14090, effective August 26, 2013)