Rep. Dan Caulkins criticized the Illinois Department of Employment Security, saying, “They were able to quickly process fraudulent claims worth of hundreds of millions, but couldn’t talk to those desperate for help." | Facebook
Rep. Dan Caulkins criticized the Illinois Department of Employment Security, saying, “They were able to quickly process fraudulent claims worth of hundreds of millions, but couldn’t talk to those desperate for help." | Facebook
Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins questions the order of handling business at the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).
“They were able to quickly process fraudulent claims worth of hundreds of millions, but couldn’t talk to those desperate for help,” Caulkins posted on Twitter. "Let the sun shine in.”
All across the state, residents are being hit with repayment demands for benefits they received during the pandemic, with some facing back payments of as much as $20,000, according to ABC7.
While many state and federal programs are designed to help individuals who received unemployment overpayments by granting them forgiveness, many are now insisting their requests are now being denied or mired in confusion.
"I, like many people, was hit hard and I can't take another hit like that," said Lavinia Redmond, a bus driver for Chicago Public Schools who was laid off during the pandemic. "There was no way for me to fill out a waiver because there was no link there."
IDES officials said the waiver program has not yet been implemented, and gave no timetable on when it might go live.
Republican House Leader Jim Durkin isn’t happy.
"They're insulting Illinois residents by saying, 'Pay us back money because of the error that we made.' I think it's just morally wrong," he said.
Durkin said his office is still getting calls from people being threatened with such assertions as "you owe us money, we're going to garnish your wages, we're going to put a lien, we're going to put a claim on whatever type of job you have right now." In the meantime, Illinois state leaders missed a Sept. 6 deadline for paying back a $4.2 billion federal loan to fund the state unemployment insurance program, according to Illinois Policy, a development that leaves already cash-strapped taxpayers on the hook to pay $60 million in annual interest on the loan.
One of just 22 states to apply for the federal funds, Illinois is now one of just 10 saddled with rising interest on that debt, payments some business leaders are warning could spike to as high as $60 million annually by 2022.
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