State budget among top items to be considered By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers will return to Springfield next week for the first time in more than two months to take up a state budget and other critical matters while following strict social distancing and public safety […]
Total claims since mid-March top 800,000 By JERRY NOWICKICapitol News Illinoisjnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Unemployment in Illinois and the U.S. continues to balloon amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The state reported 81,596 first-time claims in the week ending April 25, during which time more than 3.8 million claims were submitted nationally. […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday that 4.4 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims during the week that ended April 18, including 102,936 workers in Illinois. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 520,227 workers in Illinois, or 8.2 percent of […]
By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinoisphancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Top leaders of the Illinois House and Senate say there is still no timetable for calling lawmakers back into session, but they have launched a process for narrowing down the topics they’ll need to address whenever they do return. In recent weeks, both […]
‘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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
