by Greg Bishop, The Center Square | March 08, 2021 08:30 AM Print this article While state officials say employers won’t have to cover unemployment benefits paid to fraudsters, taxpayers will still be on the hook for unrecovered funds. More hearings are expected to further delve into the myriad problems at the Illinois Department of Employment Security. A hearing Thursday touched the surface. As of December, IDES said it’s paid out $19 billion to cover the costs of unemployment since government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions forced businesses to close, reduce hours or limit customers. The department said it’s stopped 1.5 million fraudulent claims to date, but didn’t put a value on how much money in fraudulent claims has been paid out.