Grundy Reporter

Republican representatives of the State House called for reform of the Illinois Dept. of Employment Security (IDES), portraying it as an out-of-control agency rampant with fraud and ridden with system failures.

“For the entirety of the State of Illinois’ pandemic response, my office has been inundated with calls from out of work Illinoisans that cannot get through to file for unemployment,” state Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) said on the GOP website thecaucusblog.com. “Now, my office is being flooded with calls from people that have received unemployment benefits that they did not apply for and do not want. One of my constituents that received a benefits card is U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Illinois). He obviously would not have applied for unemployment benefits, but still received a debit card. Why and how is this possible? When people do their best to call IDES to return these fraudulent cards, they cannot get through. The failure is epic, and unacceptable.”

The mission statement of IDES says the agency is tasked with encouraging growth in jobs and the state’s economy. The agency administers unemployment checks, provides services to employers and job seekers, and acts as an information gathering site for employment and wage data.

Bryant, along with House members Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) and Tim Butler (R-Springfield), held a video conference accusing IDES of mismanagement and fraud. Ugaste and other House members earlier demanded that Gov. J.B. Pritzker call a special session of the General Assembly to enact reforms in the wake of several scandals involving top state Democrats including an influence-peddling charge against House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Madigan faces accusations he accepted bribes from Commonwealth Edison called ComEd, the state’s biggest electricity company, in exchange for favorable legislation to increase profits. Staffers for Madigan have denied the accusations.

In the case of IDES, Butler alleged that Pritzker has ignored an unacceptable situation.

“I want to start with hearings, in public, where we can question agency officials and get to the bottom of the failed response, and the data breach and fraud, and make sure something like this can never happen again in Illinois,” he said. “Gov. Pritzker has finally admitted there are problems at IDES, but his go-to move has been to blame the federal government. His response to Illinois workers in this time of crisis has been nothing short of a disaster.”

The report said IDES provides temporary financial relief for thousands of residents who have been laid off because of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Republicans cited a number of what they said were disturbing incidents at the agency including a security breach at a data base that revealed Social Security information to public view leaving residents vulnerable to potential hacking. In addition they said hundreds of residents have failed to get access to the system to process unemployment claims while others mistakenly received benefits they had not applied for.

Kristin Richards was named new acting director of the agency by Pritzker on July 9. Richards was formerly the chief of staff to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and replaced Thomas Chan.

The report added that agency officials promised better performance in the future.