Any person affected by a final administrative decision of the Department may have such decision reviewed judicially by the circuit court of the county wherein such person resides. If the plaintiff in the review proceedings is not a resident of this State, the venue shall be in Sangamon County. 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.
The Department shall not be required to certify any record to the court or file any answer in court or otherwise appear in any court in a Judicial review proceeding, unless there is filed in the court with the complaint a receipt from the Department acknowledging payment of the costs of furnishing and certifying the record which costs shall be computed at the rate of 20 cents per page of such record. Exhibit shall be certified without cost. Failure on the part of the Plaintiff to file such receipt in court shall be grounds for dismissal of the action.
225 ILCS 345/21