3-101.Definitions.
Article III. Administrative Review · Last amended 2002 · Last verified July 20, 2026
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/3-101
Plain-English Summary
Section 3-101 defines "administrative agency" broadly: any person, body of persons, group, officer, board, bureau, commission, or department, other than a court or judge, of the State or one of its political subdivisions or municipal corporations, that has the power under law to make administrative decisions.
"Administrative decision" (or "decision") means a decision, order, or determination rendered in a particular case that affects the legal rights, duties, or privileges of parties and that terminates the proceeding before the agency. Much of the section works out how a rehearing or review request filed with the agency affects that finality. Where a statute or agency rule requires or permits a rehearing application within a specified time, no decision becomes final as to the applying party until that rehearing or review is had or denied. Where a statute instead allows a rehearing application for an indefinite period — for example, any time before the agency enters judgment against the applicant — the pending decision's finality isn't postponed on that account; instead, filing that later application starts a new proceeding, and the outcome of that proceeding is itself a new, independent administrative decision.
The record on review then depends on what happened with that later application: if it was denied outright, review of that denial is generally limited to the application and the denial order, unless the original suit for judicial review would still be timely as if no application had been filed. If the rehearing or review was granted, the record can include both the proceedings on rehearing and the earlier proceedings that led to the decision being reheard.
The definition of "administrative decision" excludes an agency's rules, regulations, standards, or statements of policy of general application used to implement or interpret the law it enforces, unless one of those is directly at issue and its applicability or validity is contested in a specific proceeding before the agency. It also excludes internal-management regulations that don't affect private rights or interests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an "administrative agency" under the Administrative Review Law?
Any person, body of persons, group, officer, board, bureau, commission, or department — other than a court or judge — of the State, or of a political subdivision or municipal corporation in the State, that has the legal power to make administrative decisions.
What makes something an "administrative decision" that can be judicially reviewed?
A decision, order, or determination rendered by the agency in a particular case that affects the legal rights, duties, or privileges of the parties and that terminates the proceeding before the agency.
How does filing a rehearing request affect when an agency decision becomes final?
If the governing statute or agency rule requires or permits the rehearing request within a specified time, the decision isn't final as to the applicant until the rehearing or review is had or denied.
What's the difference between a rehearing application with a set deadline and one that can be filed indefinitely?
A time-limited application postpones finality until it's resolved. An indefinite-period application doesn't postpone the original decision's finality; instead, filing it starts a new proceeding whose result is treated as a new, independent administrative decision.
Does the Administrative Review Law let someone challenge an agency's general rules or regulations?
Only in limited circumstances. General rules, regulations, standards, or policy statements aren't "administrative decisions" unless one is directly at issue and its applicability or validity is disputed in a specific proceeding before the agency.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)