1M Jobless Claims In 2 Months As State Promises Improved System

ACROSS IL — The Illinois Department of Employment Security has processed more than 1 million initial unemployment claims in just two months, state officials announced Thursday. After an undeniably rocky start, which left several frustrated jobless workers without paychecks for weeks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the IDES has improved its online system and hired 100 new employees for its call center to ensure a quicker turnaround for those seeking unemployment benefits moving forward.

"The pain and devastation for people who have lost their jobs is heartbreaking," Pritzker said during his daily address on Thursday. Also on Thursday, state health officials provided the update on the number of new deaths in the state, 138 in the past 24 hours, and new coronavirus cases, 2,641. To date, 3,111 have died from the virus and 70,873 people have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic.

As businesses laid off staffers, businesses and restaurants closed under Pritzker's stay-at-home order, and COVID-19 rocked local economies, an unprecedented 1,006,925 people turned to unemployment benefits and filed initial claims between March 1 and May 2. That number is 12 times higher than the same period last year when just 78,100 initial jobless claims were processed, according to a news release from the IDES.

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On Thursday, Pritzker addressed many issues the IDES faced when it was hit with a surge in claims in March. The agency , Pritzker said, was under-staffed — with 500 fewer employees than it had 10 years ago — and its outdated systems lead to issues for those trying to file online.

Since then, the agency has ramped up its services; improved its online systems; and added a "chatbot," engineered with help from Google, that answered 3.2 million questions in its first two weeks, Pritzker said.

In the past two weeks, the number of initial jobless claims has declined in Illinois.

But IDES may experience an increase when the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program becomes available this Monday. Workers who believe they may be eligible for new federal benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, must first apply for regular unemployment insurance before applying for benefits under PUA when a new application portal opens on Monday via the IDES website.

• IDES Instructs 1099 Workers to Apply for Regular Unemployment Benefits Before PUA Program Goes Live
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To accommodate an influx in new claims in recent weeks, the IDES implemented online filing and call center filing schedules in recent weeks that had with last names beginning with letters A through M filing on Sundays, Tuesdays or Thursdays, and those with last names beginning with letters N through Z filing their claims on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays. Saturdays were left open for all to file. Similar initiatives were put in place for those calling in. More information on how to file for unemployment can be found on the IDES website.

Additionally, the IDES provides answers to frequently asked questions on its website. Pritzker said residents are encouraged to try to get their answers online and use the IDES improved online filing systems before calling in.

This is a developing story. Check back to Patch for more.