(a) The Board shall, in accordance with Section 15, have the power to revoke or suspend an occupation license, and the steward or judges at a race meeting shall have the power to suspend an occupation license of any horse owner, trainer, harness driver, jockey, agent, apprentice, groom, stable foreman, exercise boy, veterinarian, valet, blacksmith or concessionaire whose work, in whole or in part, is conducted at facilities within the State, or to determine the eligibility for employment at a wagering facility of a pari-mutuel clerk, parking attendant or security guard. The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act shall not apply to the actions of the Board or of the stewards or judges at a race meeting, and those actions shall instead be subject to the procedures outlined in subsections (b) through (e) of this Section. The Board may refuse to issue or may suspend the occupation license of any person who fails to file a return, or to pay the tax, penalty or interest shown in a filed return, or to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest, as required by any tax Act administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue, until such time as the requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied.
(b) In the event the Board, for violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations of the Board or other just cause, refuses, revokes or suspends an occupation license, or a steward or the judges at any race meeting suspend an occupation license of any horse owner, trainer, harness driver, jockey, agent, apprentice, groom, stable foreman, exercise person, veterinarian, valet, blacksmith, concessionaire or other occupation licensee whose work, in whole or in part is conducted at facilities within the State and owned by a licensee, or declare a person ineligible for employment, then the occupation license of the person or his eligibility for employment shall be suspended pending a hearing of the Board.(c) The person affected by such action at any race meeting may request a hearing before the Board within 5 days after receipt of notice of the suspension from the Board, the steward or the judges at any race meeting. The hearing shall be held by the Board within 7 days after such request has been received by the Board. Any action of a steward or the judges with respect to any occupation license or eligibility for employment may be heard by the Board on its own motion by giving the aggrieved party at least 3 days' notice in writing of the time and place of the hearing.(d) All hearings by the Board under this Section shall be held at such place in the State as the Board may designate and any notice provided for shall be served by mailing it postage prepaid by certified mail to the parties affected. Any such notice so mailed is deemed to have been served on the business day next following the date of such mailing.(e) The Board in conducting such hearings shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence, but all evidence offered before the Board shall be reduced to writing and shall, with petition and exhibits, if any, and the findings of the Board, be permanently preserved and constitute the record of the Board in such case. The Board may require that appellants bear reasonable costs of the production of hearing transcripts. Any of the parties affected in such hearing may be represented by counsel and introduce evidence. At the request of the Board, the Attorney General shall assist and participate in the conduct of such hearing.(f) Every member of the Board has the power to administer oaths and affirmations, certify all official acts, issue subpoenas, compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of papers, books, accounts, and documents.(g) Any person who is served with a subpoena (issued by the Board or any member thereof) to appear and testify, or to produce books, papers, accounts or documents in the course of an inquiry or hearing conducted under this Act, and who refuses or neglects to appear or to testify or to produce books, papers, accounts and documents relative to the hearings as commanded in such subpoenas, may be punished by the Circuit Court in the county where the violation is committed in the same manner as the Circuit Court may punish such refusal or neglect in a case filed in court.(h) In case of disobedience to a subpoena, the Board may petition the Circuit Court in the county where the violation was committed for an order requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of documentary evidence or both. A copy of such petition shall be served by personal notice or by registered or certified mail upon the person who has failed to obey that subpoena, and such person shall be advised in writing that a hearing upon the petition will be requested in a court room to be designated in that notice before the judge occupying the courtroom on a specified date and at a specified time.(i) The court, upon the filing of such a petition, may order the person refusing to obey the subpoena to appear before the Board at a designated time, or to there produce documentary evidence, if so ordered, or to give evidence relating to the subject matter of the hearing. Any failure to obey such order of the Circuit Court may be punished by that court as a civil or criminal contempt upon itself.(j) The Board, any member thereof or any applicant may, in connection with any hearing before the Board, cause the deposition of witnesses within or without the State to be taken on oral or written interrogatories in the manner prescribed for depositions in the courts of this State.(k) At the conclusion of such hearing, the Board shall make its findings which shall be the basis of the refusal, suspension or revocation of the occupation license or other action taken by the Board. Such findings and the action of the Board shall be final. However, the action of the Board and the propriety thereof are subject to review under Section 46.P.A. 89-16, eff. 5/30/1995.