How To File For Unemployment In Illinois In Coronavirus Shutdown

ACROSS ILLINOIS — After Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a stay-at-home order across Illinois, employees in other fields joined the city's restaurant workers in seeking unemployment. The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) has enacted emergency rules for unemployment filing that may allow more residents to collect unemployment if they lost their jobs due to the new coronavirus.

Can I File For Unemployment In Illinois?

Under these emergency rules, those who file for unemployment due to the coronavirus "would be considered to be actively seeking work as long as the individual was prepared to return to his or her job as soon the employer reopened" and would not have to register with the IDES employment service.

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Residents who need to stay at home with their children because of coronavirus-related school closures may also be eligible for unemployment benefits. The IDES website states, "Under the current circumstances, someone who left work to care for the child could be considered as unemployed through no fault of his her own; in that case, to qualify for [unemployment insurance], the individual would still need to meet all other eligibility requirements, including the requirements that the individual be able and available for work, registered with the state employment service and actively seeking work from the confines of his or her home."

They define "available to work" as " if there was some work that [they] could perform from home (e.g., transcribing, data entry, virtual assistant services) and there is a labor market for that work."

How To File For Unemployment In Illinois

As of March 19, IDES offices are closed to the public until further notice. To file for unemployment in Illinois, you can:

• Apply on the IDES website
• Call 800-244-5631 or 866-488-4016 (TTY)

Changes For Filing Unemployment Online

To manage calls and traffic to its website during the coronavirus shutdown, IDES has put new rules in place for filing. They are as follows:

• Those with last names beginning with letters A-M will be asked to file their claims on Sundays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays.
• Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z will be asked to file their claims on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays.
• Saturdays will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.

Changes For Filing Unemployment By Phone

The following changes are in effect for those filing by phone during the coronavirus shutdown.

• Those with last names beginning with letters A-M will be asked to call on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
• Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z will be asked to call on Mondays and Wednesdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
• Fridays (7:30am – 6pm) will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.

Those approved for unemployment insurance may be eligible for a "maximum of 26 full weeks in a one-year period, depending on when the claim was established," according to the IDES website.

Click the link to view a table that gives some guidance as to what weekly unemployment insurance payments would look like for approved applicants, depending on their incomes.

Residents can also use Illinois Worknet Center website to find resources about careers, layoff assistance and training.

What If The Website Freezes

After this article was written, Patch heard from readers that the IDES site was occasionally freezing up. IDES did not immediately respond for a request for comment about what residents should do if this happens.

In a recent episode of Life, Love and the Grind, hosted by NABET-41 Vice President Raza Siddiqui and Sean Allen from Bricklayers Local 21, Attorney Jeff Jacobson recommended some options in case the IDES website isn't working. Jacobson, who has been offering pro bono help during the coronavirus crisis, said unemployment benefits start the Sunday before you file, so as long as you're able to file by Saturday, you won't miss out on that week of benefits.

If you can't file online, Jacobson suggests writing a letter to IDES stating your date of unemployment, your employer's name and your social security number. Include the reason your weren't able to file online and mail it to your local IDES site. Jacobson says this may help your case, since unemployment offices are closed to in-person visits during the coronavirus shutdown.