3-111.Powers of circuit court.

Article III. Administrative Review · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 20, 2026

In one sentenceSection 3-111 lists the circuit court's specific powers on administrative review — staying the decision, amending the record, substituting or realigning parties, affirming, reversing, remanding, entering a money judgment, and handling bond-or-lien requirements — while limiting reversal for harmless technical errors.

Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/3-111

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d)

(a) The Circuit Court has power:

(1) with or without requiring bond (except if otherwise provided in the particular statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered), and before or after answer filed, upon notice to the agency and good cause shown, to stay the decision of the administrative agency in whole or in part pending the final disposition of the case. For the purpose of this subsection, "good cause" requires the applicant to show (i) that an immediate stay is required in order to preserve the status quo without endangering the public, (ii) that it is not contrary to public policy, and (iii) that there exists a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits;

(2) to make any order that it deems proper for the amendment, completion or filing of the record of proceedings of the administrative agency;

(3) to allow substitution of parties by reason of marriage, death, bankruptcy, assignment or other cause;

(4) to dismiss parties, to correct misnomers, including any erroneous identification of the administrative agency that was made in good faith, to realign parties, or to join agencies or parties;

(5) to affirm or reverse the decision in whole or in part;

(6) where a hearing has been held by the agency, to reverse and remand the decision in whole or in part, and, in that case, to state the questions requiring further hearing or proceedings and to give such other instructions as may be proper;

(7) where a hearing has been held by the agency, to remand for the purpose of taking additional evidence when from the state of the record of the administrative agency or otherwise it shall appear that such action is just. However, no remandment shall be made on the ground of newly discovered evidence unless it appears to the satisfaction of the court that such evidence has in fact been discovered subsequent to the termination of the proceedings before the administrative agency and that it could not by the exercise of reasonable diligence have been obtained at such proceedings; and that such evidence is material to the issues and is not cumulative;

(8) in case of affirmance or partial affirmance of an administrative decision which requires the payment of money, to enter judgment for the amount justified by the record and for costs, which judgment may be enforced as other judgments for the recovery of money;

(9) when the particular statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered requires the plaintiff to file a satisfactory bond and provides for the dismissal of the action for the plaintiff's failure to comply with this requirement unless the court is authorized by the particular statute to enter, and does enter, an order imposing a lien upon the plaintiff's property, to take such proofs and to enter such orders as may be appropriate to carry out the provisions of the particular statute. However, the court shall not approve the bond, nor enter an order for the lien, in any amount which is less than that prescribed by the particular statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered if the statute provides what the minimum amount of the bond or lien shall be or provides how said minimum amount shall be determined. No such bond shall be approved by the court without notice to, and an opportunity to be heard thereon by, the administrative agency affected. The lien, created by the entry of a court order in lieu of a bond, shall not apply to property exempted from the lien by the particular statute under authority of which the administrative decision was entered. The lien shall not be effective against real property whose title is registered under the provisions of the Registered Titles (Torrens) Act until the provisions of Section 85 of that Act are complied with.

(b) Technical errors in the proceedings before the administrative agency or its failure to observe the technical rules of evidence shall not constitute grounds for the reversal of the administrative decision unless it appears to the court that such error or failure materially affected the rights of any party and resulted in substantial injustice to him or her.

(c) On motion of either party, the circuit court shall make findings of fact or state the propositions of law upon which its judgment is based.

(d) The changes to this Section made by Public Act 95-831 apply to all actions filed on or after August 21, 2007 (the effective date of Public Act 95-831). The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply to all actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly.

End

Plain-English Summary

Subsection (a) lists nine specific powers of the circuit court. Among them: staying the agency's decision, with or without bond, on notice and for good cause, where "good cause" requires showing an immediate stay is needed to preserve the status quo without endangering the public, that a stay isn't contrary to public policy, and that there's a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits; ordering the amendment, completion, or filing of the agency's record; allowing substitution of parties for reasons like marriage, death, bankruptcy, or assignment; dismissing parties, correcting misnomers made in good faith, realigning parties, or joining agencies or parties; and affirming or reversing the decision in whole or in part.

Two of the powers address remand. Where a hearing was held by the agency, the court can reverse and remand in whole or in part, stating the questions requiring further proceedings and giving other proper instructions. Separately, where a hearing was held, the court can remand for the purpose of taking additional evidence when the state of the record makes that appear just — but not on the ground of newly discovered evidence unless the court is satisfied that evidence was discovered after the agency proceeding ended, couldn't have been obtained earlier through reasonable diligence, and is material and non-cumulative.

The remaining powers in subsection (a) let the court, on affirmance or partial affirmance of a decision requiring payment of money, enter judgment for the amount the record justifies plus costs; and, where a statute requires a bond and provides for dismissal if the plaintiff doesn't comply, take proofs and enter appropriate orders, including a lien in lieu of a bond in some circumstances, subject to minimum-amount rules, a notice-and-hearing requirement for the affected agency, and an exception for property registered under the Torrens Act until Section 85 of that Act is satisfied.

Subsections (b) and (c) round out the section: technical errors in the agency proceeding, or a failure to follow technical evidence rules, aren't grounds for reversal unless the error materially affected a party's rights and caused substantial injustice, and on motion of either party, the circuit court must make findings of fact or state the legal propositions its judgment rests on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must a party show to get a stay of an agency's decision pending review?

Good cause, which under subsection (a)(1) requires showing that an immediate stay is needed to preserve the status quo without endangering the public, that the stay isn't contrary to public policy, and that there's a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits.

Can the circuit court remand a case to the agency for a new hearing?

Yes, where a hearing was held by the agency, the court can reverse and remand in whole or in part, stating the questions requiring further hearing or proceedings.

When can the court allow additional evidence to be taken on remand?

Where a hearing was held and it appears just from the state of the record, though remand for newly discovered evidence requires that the evidence was discovered after the agency proceeding ended, couldn't have been obtained earlier with reasonable diligence, and is material and non-cumulative.

Can the court enter a money judgment based on the agency's decision?

Yes. On affirmance or partial affirmance of a decision requiring the payment of money, the court can enter judgment for the amount justified by the record, plus costs, enforceable like any other money judgment.

Does every technical error in the agency proceeding require reversal?

No. Subsection (b) says technical errors or a failure to observe technical evidence rules aren't grounds for reversal unless they materially affected a party's rights and resulted in substantial injustice.

Amendment History

(Source: P.A. 100-212, eff. 8-18-17.)

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: circuit court powers administrative review illinoisstay of agency decision illinoisremand for additional evidence illinois administrative reviewharmless error administrative review illinois