Illinois' governor today used his executive authority to centralize, and potentially speed up an administrative process that's in play when a doctor misbehaves, a welfare recipient has a problem with benefits, or an employee alleges discrimination.
The state gets roughly 100, 000 requests for administrative hearings each year.
Sadzi Olivia is the chief administrative law judge for the Dept. of Children and Family Services.
"Administrative law is the body of law that regulates the operation and procedure of government agencies."
Sounds bureaucratic. And it is. But she says the outcomes of these cases can have a huge impact on the public.
"It could be a revocation for a doctor to practice medicine, it could be a denial of employee benefits.”
Now, there are 100 varieties of hearings, each with different rules. That can cause delays. In an attempt to streamline, Illinois is trying a pilot project. Multiple agencies will use one panel of judges, one computer system, one set of rules.
