After A Year Of Demanding Answers, CBS 2 Sits Down With Illinois Department Of Employment Security Acting Director Kristin Richards To Talk About What s Broken And How To Fix It msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
When NBC 5 Responds caught up with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul last July, he showed us the debit card that showed his name was used by con artists trying to tap into his unemployment benefits. This month, we asked Raoul how his case turned out.
“Well, you know for me, I didn’t know what was going on because it was early in the process, Raoul said. So I was unaware, even as the Attorney General … of the scope of the fraud taking place.
“Unaware” as we all were. Now we know that nationally, Raoul’s name was one of thousands swept up in a massive case of unemployment benefits fraud. The US Department of Labor now estimates at least $63 billion was paid out improperly in claims. Much of that was fraud, according to an audit by the US Department of Labor s Office of the Inspector General .
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) The Illinois Department of Employment Security is asking for millions more dollars in its budget after an unprecedented year.
Wednesday marks one year since IDES closed its offices across the state. What followed was a chaotic scramble to handle a historic surge in applications for unemployment benefits. Now, the agency is asking for millions as it seeks to re-open. For fiscal year 2022, the department is requesting $450.4 million all-funds appropriation including a $133.9 million increase in federal funds spending authority over the current fiscal year, said IDES Acting Director Kristin Richards at today s Senate Budget hearing.
Her agency is one of the very few approved by Governor JB Pritzker to ask for money.
Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
Mar 16, 2021 4:08 PM
(The Center Square) â The Illinois Department of Employment Security wants more spending authority for offices that havenât been open to the public for nearly a year.
The agency is also preparing to send out overpayment waiver requests.
IDES Acting Director Kristin Richards on Tuesday requested a $450.4 million budget that includes a $133.9 million increase in federal spending over the previous fiscal year. She told a Senate committee that will help with the continued workload during the pandemic.
Illinois experienced massive unemployment in the weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered the stateâs bars and restaurants to close and then subsequent state-at-home order a year ago. Those orders also closed unemployment offices around the state, which have been closed to the public ever since, increasing the call volume to IDES exponentially.
Illinois Department Of Employment Security Admits To Monthlong Callback Wait Times; State Rep. Says Methods Must Change
CBS Chicago 3/9/2021 Syndicated Local – CBS Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) The Illinois Department of Employment Security is finally admitting that callback times are getting worse, not better.
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Many claimants are waiting a month on average for help.
CBS 2’s Tara Molina on Monday dug deeper into the issue, and talked with a state representative about what needs to be done within IDES.
For those with issues that aren’t simple, the average wait time for help is four weeks – a month – just for the state to respond to a call for help.