 Holding individuals personally liable was part of reforms by Gov. Pat Quinn and
was overwhelmingly approved with bipartisan support to fight waste, fraud and
abuse in the state's unemployment insurance program.
"The days of gaming the system are over. Every dollar that does not go into
the Trust Fund because someone looked the other way hurts every business owner
and worker in our state," said IDES Director Jay Rowell. "While it's rewarding
that more businesses are taking note of the harsher consequences and paying what
they owe, this should put every business owner on notice that skirting the law
is not worth the consequences."
Compliance is 27 percent above levels prior to the 2011 legislation. The
increase stems from the ability to hold individuals personally liable for the
amount of the business's tax liability, plus penalty and interest. The $7.3
million generally represents dollars collected so far in state fiscal 2013.
Of the businesses that have voluntarily complied, four are in Oak Brook,
three in Peoria, two in Hoffman Estates and one each in Bedford Park, Chicago,
Decatur, Franklin Park, Loves Park, Melrose Park, Morton, Oak Forrest,
Williamsville and Wilmington. Four companies are outside Illinois: in Inglewood,
Calif., Louisville, Ky., Raleigh, N.C.; and Plano, Texas.
Unemployment benefits are funded through a payroll tax. Several factors are
considered in setting the annual contribution level, including the amount of
money in the Trust Fund. The more money in the Trust Fund, the lower the payroll
tax.
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Unemployment insurance is a temporary program designed to help
individuals and their neighboring businesses. These dollars are
spent for essentials at local groceries, gas stations and clothing
stores. Every $1 in unemployment insurance benefits generates about
$1.63 in economic activity.
In the 21 months since the governor's appointment of Rowell and
his overwhelming bipartisan Senate confirmation, anti-fraud and
Trust Fund integrity initiatives include garnishing federal tax
refunds of unemployment cheats; checking unemployment rolls against
prison logs; strengthening the anti-fraud unit with attorneys from
the attorney general's office; creating monthly reporting
requirements to quickly identify fraud; and holding business
officials personally liable for knowingly misstating their company's
obligations. The programs will save taxpayers more than $145
million.
[Text from
Illinois
Department of Employment Security
file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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