Rep. Rosenthal Reacts to IDES Fraud

Recently, the Illinois Auditor General concluded that the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) wastefully spent over $5 billion of taxpayer money on fraudulent unemployment claims during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. State Representative Wayne Rosenthal (R-Morrisonville) expressed his frustration at this failure by the administration and the lack of transparency with the residents of Illinois.

“It shouldn’t take an audit to identify this level of fraud and mismanagement,” said Rosenthal. “We should have protocols in place that flag fraudulent activity and lead to immediate action so our taxpayers don’t suffer from this lack of government accountability.”

Rosenthal and his House Republican colleagues have called for reforms to repair the broken system at the IDES but have been ignored by the administration.

Rosenthal continued, “Hardworking constituents should not have to pay the price for mistakes that easily could have been avoided by competent leadership, but now workers and job creators will feel the impact of this failure.”