‘Mass opening’ of businesses not coming May 1, he says By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Changes are coming to the stay-at-home order, Gov. JB Pritzker said again at his daily COVID-19 briefing Tuesday in Chicago, but it is unclear what they are and when they will happen. More […]
State of Illinois
Number of Illinois residents who have filed for unemployment continues to rise
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) has released new statewide data showing the department processed over 141,000 new initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 11. Since March 1, the department has processed more than 650,000 initial unemployment claims, 12 times more than the number of claims over […]
House Republicans call for beefing up state’s unemployment system
Pritzker says agency is coping with unprecedented number of jobless claims By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House Republicans on Monday called on Gov. JB Pritzker to do more to handle the unprecedented volume of new claims for unemployment benefits coming into the Illinois Department of Employment Security, […]
Another 200,000 Illinoisans file for unemployment claims
Economists forecast potential major hit on state’s economy revenues By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – More than half a million Illinois workers have filed first-time unemployment claims in the four weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak first hit the labor market. Economists at the University of Illinois are now forecasting […]
Unemployment continues to soar amid COVID-19 outbreak
Nearly 300,000 Illinoisans filed first-time claims in past two weeks By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – First-time unemployment claims skyrocketed again in Illinois and throughout the nation in the last week of March as businesses closed their doors or scaled back operations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Illinois Department of Employment Security utilizes new alphabetized benefit schedule
Designated times set to handle overwhelming surge in unemployment claims By REBECCA ANZELCapitol News Illinoisranzel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois department tasked with overseeing unemployment benefits is employing an alphabetized schedule to handle “an unprecedented volume” of claims. Claims now must be filed online and by phone on days and at […]
State, national unemployment spikes amid COVID-19 outbreak
More than 114,000 Illinoisans file new claims in one week By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — More than 114,000 workers in Illinois filed first-time unemployment claims in the week ending March 21 as the United States saw its biggest one-week spike in recorded history. 3.2 million workers filing for […]
Illinois daylight savings discussion stalled at House
BY DANI TIETZdani@mahometnews.com Groggy workers and students on Monday in Illinois are left wondering if Senate Bill 533, the bill that would end the state’s biannual change of the clock known as daylight savings time, will ever pass and become law. As of Nov. 19, 2019, the measure had passed […]
75-mph speed limit up for consideration in Illinois
Senate Bill 2565 and Senate Bill 2564, filed by State Sen. Jim Oberweis (Republican-25th District), seeks to increase speed limits across rural Illinois. The bills have been assigned to the Senate Subcommittee on Special Issues, which currently has no members. Should the bills pass, Senate Bill 2564 would change the […]
Local governments call for increase in state revenue sharing
By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A local government advocacy group laid out its legislative agenda Monday and called on lawmakers to fully fund a program that shares state income tax revenue with local municipalities. The Illinois Municipal League’s “Moving Cities Forward” agenda also includes efforts to: protect local […]