Section 205 ILCS 658/5-5 - Issuance of license(a) When an application for an original license under this Act appears to include all the items and addresses of all of the matters that are required, the application is complete and the Secretary shall promptly notify the applicant in a record of the date on which the application is determined to be complete, and:(1) unless extended by the Secretary pursuant to the Secretary's discretion, the Secretary shall approve or deny the application within 120 days after the completion date; or(2) if the application is not approved or denied within 120 days after the completion date or any extension thereof: (A) the application is approved; and(B) the license takes effect as of the first business day after expiration of the 120-day period.(b) A determination by the Secretary that an application is complete and is accepted for processing means only that the application, on its face, appears to include all of the items, including the Criminal Background Check response from the FBI, and address all of the matters that are required, and is not an assessment of the substance of the application or of the sufficiency of the information provided.(c) When an application is filed and considered complete under this Section, the Secretary shall investigate the applicant's financial condition and responsibility, financial and business experience, character, and general fitness. The Secretary may conduct an on-site investigation of the applicant, the reasonable cost of which the applicant must pay. The Secretary shall issue a license to an applicant under this Section if the Secretary finds that all of the following conditions have been fulfilled: (1) the applicant has complied with Sections 5-3 and 5-4; and(2) the financial condition and responsibility, financial and business experience, competence, character, and general fitness of the applicant and the competence, experience, character, and general fitness of the key individuals and persons in control of the applicant indicate that it is in the interest of the public to permit the applicant to engage in money transmission.(d) If an applicant avails itself or is otherwise subject to a multistate licensing process:(1) the Secretary is authorized and encouraged to accept the investigation results of a lead investigative state for the purpose of subsection (c) if the lead investigative state has sufficient staffing, expertise, and minimum standards; or(2) if Illinois is a lead investigative state, the Secretary is authorized and encouraged to investigate the applicant pursuant to subsection (c) and the timeframes established by agreement through the multistate licensing process, however, in no case shall such timeframe be noncompliant with the application period in paragraph (1) of subsection (a).(e) The Secretary shall issue a formal written notice of the denial of a license application within 30 days after the decision to deny the application. The Secretary shall set forth the specific reasons for the denial of the application in the notice of denial and serve the applicant, either personally or by certified mail. Service by certified mail shall be deemed completed when the notice is deposited into the U.S. Mail. An applicant whose application is denied by the Secretary under this Section may submit a written request for a hearing that shall include the particular reasons why the applicant believes that the decision to deny the application was incorrect, within 10 days after service of the notice of the denial. If an applicant submits a timely request for a hearing, the Secretary shall schedule a hearing after the request for a hearing unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. The Secretary shall conduct hearings pursuant to this Section and in accordance with 38 Ill. Adm. Code 100, as amended or recodified from time to time.(f) The initial license term shall begin on the day that the application is approved. The license shall expire on December 31 of the year in which the license term began, unless the initial license date is between November 1 and December 31, in which instance the initial license term shall run through December 31 of the following year.Added by P.A. 103-0991,§ 5-5, eff. 8/9/2024.