Peoria Standard

Illinois State Rep. Thomas Bennett (R-Gibson City) shed some light on a million-dollar fraud problem at the state agency tasked with handling unemployment benefits in the Prairie State. 

Bennett took to social media where he shared an article detailing the agency's shortfalls.

"Records show Illinois Department of Employment Security lost $1.2 million in taxpayer money to fraudsters," he said in a Facebook post this week. 

Earlier this month, CBS 2 reported IDES lost $1.2 million of taxpayer funds to fraud during the pandemic. The discovery came after CBS 2 filed an appeal to the Illinois Attorney General's Office about IDES' possible Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) violations. 

"That process revealed what IDES originally told CBS 2 wasn't true: the agency actually does track how much it has paid in back claimants due to fraud," the report said. At the end of March, IDES was forced to send the requested documentation to CBS 2.

Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) previously sounded the alarm about IDES for ignoring claimants who needed help back in October, a Chambana Sun report said. At the time, people were being told they would have to pay back benefits they'd been paid. Caulkins criticized the agency for quickly processing fraudulent claims but pushing aside those who actually needed financial help. 

In February, state lawmakers continued to press for answers about the totality of the state's unemployment fraud while the agency remained silent about the issue, Illinois Policy reported. They found more than 1 million people affected by the IDES fraud problem.