Unemployments Benefits For Illinoisans Could End Soon: Pritzker

ILLINOIS — As the state grapples with the financial shock waves of the coronavirus pandemic, more Illinois residents are falling back on the unemployment benefits offered by the government. However, if the Senate does not get a stimulus bill moving this December, Republicans will be "putting a big lump of coal in the Christmas stockings of a whole lot of American families," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said during his Monday news conference.

He said there are currently more Illinoisans claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation — the temporary 13-week extension of benefits that the U.S. Congress passed as part of the CARES Act package in spring — and extended benefits than at any point during the pandemic.

The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Assistance Program for the self-employed, the federally-funded extra 13 weeks of PEUC benefits for eligible unemployment claimants and the extended seven weeks of benefits will all expire the day after Christmas.

"Without assistance from congress, five weeks from now, there will be no way to replace these benefits for the hundreds and thousands of Illinoisans impacted by each program, which has become an essential lifeline for people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic," Pritzker said. "This is incredibly dire."

A recent report from the public police think tank The Century Foundation estimates the 12 million Americans will see their benefits begin to expire next month. An estimated 4.4 million people in the country have already maxed out on their unemployment support for this year.

"The clock is ticking. Without renewed action from congress, millions of families across the United States will be plunged into far worse economic hardship than they're already facing," Pritzker said.

He said his government will do everything it can to protect the interests of the residents at the state level, but the unemployment programs cannot be altered since they are operated in partnership with the federal government. He urged people to call their members of the congress and the senators at (202) 224-3121 and let them know "you need them to stand up now."

This April, the Illinois Department of Employment Security processed more claims than it had in the previous 10 Aprils combined, Pritzker said. He said IDES had already been a diminishing agency and despite the dangerously low head count, it started helping people as soon as the pandemic hit. It had to overhaul its website infrastructure, set up a new call center with hundreds of agents, added chatbots and other features to its platforms and launched a new call back system.

As a result, IDES has processed a historic number of claims since March, paying out over $17 billion in benefits to over 1.3 million people statewide — more than 16 times the benefits paid during the same period last year.

IDES Acting Director Kristin Richards said that they are receiving fraud complaints in huge magnitudes, and they are working with state and federal partners to protect claimants. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said since July, his office has received 850 written consumer complaints and approximately 4,000 calls to the hotlines about unemployment insurance fraud.

If someone receives a letter or debit card from IDES authorizing them for unemployment benefits that they did not apply for, then that means an identity thief used their social security number to do so, he said.

In order to protect themselves from benefits fraud, Raoul said residents should take the following measures:

• Be vigilant and keep a close eye on financial account statements.

• Check credit reports for free by visiting annualcreditreport.com.

• Request a fraud alert by contacting nationwide credit bureaus, which will place a flag on one's credit report for a year.

• Place a freeze on credit reports.

• Place transaction alerts with banks and other financial institutions.

• Change password of financial accounts frequently.

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This article originally appeared on the Across Illinois Patch