Peoria Standard

Veteran state Rep. Tom Bennett (R-Lake Villa) is demanding the reopening for in-person visits of Illinois Department of Employment Security offices across the state.

"Even though the number of new cases are declining and many state offices are reopening, IDES  offices are still closed,” Bennett said during a recent press conference from the Illinois State Capitol on the issue. “We’ve seen that much work can be done remotely, including work of my district office, which has been helping hundreds of residents, but the idea of a model of working only by telephone or through a website is clearly not working for people when they need help now.”

IDES offices have been closed since May of 2020 and as complaints about the lack of service have only grown louder, some Republican lawmakers have taken on the responsibility of trying to do more to help their constituents get the help they desperately need.

“Some Illinoisans continue to struggle accessing their legitimate unemployment benefits,” state Sen. Jason Plummer recently told the Metro East Sun. “If you are still having these issues please do not hesitate to call us. IDES is a mess and the numerous failures from this department, along with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s inept leadership, have caused countless problems and hardships for Illinois families and small businesses.”

According to The Center Square, IDES is now probing more than 212,000 suspected fraud claims, with many of them targeting individuals who rated as their companies' highest earners. With the state having issued more than $17 billion in unemployment assistance since the beginning of the pandemic, IDES spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco claims much of the potential fraud can be blamed on data breaches outside the confines of the agency.

“People are waiting far too long for responses and they need help immediately,” Bennett added.