Illinois Department of Employment Security offices still closed
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[June 19, 2021]
By Andrew Hensel
(The Center Square) – With Illinois
entering Phase 5 of the COVID-19 re-opening plan, the Illinois
Department of Employment Security remains closed.
The IDES has remained closed since March 2020 and currently has no
planned date of opening according to the IDES website.
The prolonged closure has caused some lawmakers to question why. State
Rep. Adam Niemerg has called the IDES closure a "failure to the public"
that has left citizens searching for answers and reaching out to elected
officials for help.
"You have long wait times when it comes to people trying to discuss
their issues. I have gotten multiple calls to my office from people
claiming to not hear back at all from the IDES" Niemerg said. "I had a
constituent call me and if not for calling me, they were going to lose
their house due to the lack of help and response from the IDES."
With no set date for re-opening, Illinoisans are left without answers to
this problem.
Niemerg discussed a plan to open the doors at IDES and fix the issues
the agency has been facing. The plan includes the opening of every IDES
building in the state and addressing the problem of fraud and
overpayment.
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"Immediately, we need to open every single door of
every single IDES building in the state and start serving the
people,” Niemerg said. “We need to look at the accountability level
of fraud, we need to look at the accountability level of the
scammers, and we need to use this to look at the failures of the
IDES."
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A spokesperson for the agency did not return messages seeking
comment.
The IDES website says it is “closed until further notice," but
citizens can still call 815-740-5100 or access the IDES website for
help they may need. |