On Saturday, May 29th the Illinois House of Representatives approved House Resolution 226 co-sponsored by State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) calling upon the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) to reopen their public-access public employment offices to provide face-to-face help to residents who urgently need assistance with processing their unemployment claims.
“We keep hearing excuses from Governor Pritzker and IDES concerning their failure to process unemployment claims,” said Rep. Meier. “They keep saying they are working on a timeline to reopen, and they still are not open. No more delays, no more excuses, it’s time for state unemployment offices to reopen.”
IDES public-access employment offices have been closed since March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of today, local IDES offices remain closed.