Illinois To Apply For Federal Lost Wages Assistance Program

CHICAGO — State officials have begun the process of applying for the Lost Wages Assistance grant program created earlier this month by President Donald Trump. But there is not yet a timeline for Illinois workers laid off during the coronavirus pandemic to start seeing any supplemental $300 weekly payments.

Illinois is one of 18 states that have not yet been approved for the program, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trump tasked the agency with administering the program using $44 billion in disaster relief funds.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state is not yet able to implement the program but his administration is seeking to do so in the future.

"We have begun that process," Pritzker said Tuesday at a press conference. "It takes a lot of setup on an internal basis to move forward with that, so that's what we've been doing."

Trump authorized the Lost Wages Assistance program on Aug. 8 after last month's expiration of the $600-a-week federal unemployment insurance supplement created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act.

The first states received FEMA approval for the new program on Aug. 15. On Aug. 17, Arizona became the first state to begun issuing funds to eligible workers. More than $14 billion in grants have been awarded so far, according to the agency.

When asked about any timeline for disbursing money to Illinoisans, Pritzker's spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said in an email Wednesday that the administration was working through the process and hoped to be able to provide an update before the end of the week.

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Nationwide, there are more than 28 million people claiming benefits under unemployment insurance programs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois has seen an increase of more than 900 percent in its number of unemployment claims.

Last month, the state's unemployment rate fell by more than 3 points to 11.3 percent, according to provisional federal data. The Illinois Department of Economic Security reported nearly 30,000 new unemployment claims in the second week of August, the most recent data available.

Earlier in the month, the state unemployment agency announced it would provide an additional 20 weeks of benefits for those who have already received six months of unemployment insurance benefits.

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Americans have become increasingly pessimistic in their economic outlook over the past two months.

The Consumer Confidence Index fell to its lowest level in more than six years this month, according to the New York research organization Conference Board. The index is 36 percent below its February level, with consumers reporting their employment and business situations both getting significantly worse.

"Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook, and their financial prospects, also declined and continues on a downward path," said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement announcing the results Tuesday. "Consumer spending has rebounded in recent months but increasing concerns amongst consumers about the economic outlook and their financial well-being will likely cause spending to cool in the months ahead."