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* This landed in my in-box yesterday at about 5 o’clock and I missed it…
Today, Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced they are taking additional steps to address the unprecedented volume of unemployment benefit claims the department has fielded as a result of COVID-19.
To date, the department has taken several steps to improve the unemployment benefit claims process via the online portal and the call center.
• The website has been moved to new hardware infrastructure to handle the increased demand
• Web, storage, and processing capacity has been increased to meet needs of increased traffic
• Methods have been implemented to track COVID-19-related claims
• Call center capacity has been increased
• Daily call center hours have been extended to respond to those waiting in the queue after closure
• Call center staff has been supplemented by 40% to cut down on wait times
• Both the website and the call center will continue to be monitored for improvements in functions and abilitiesIn addition to these measures, IDES is now asking individuals to adhere to an alphabetized schedule when filing an unemployment benefit claim online and over the phone. This process mirrors other states, such as Colorado and New York, who are experiencing increased web traffic and high call volumes with their unemployment benefit systems.
Online Filing Schedule:• Those with last names beginning with letters A-M will be asked to file their claims on Sundays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays.
• Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z will be asked to file their claims on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays.
• Saturdays will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.
Call Center Filing Schedule:
• Those with last names beginning with letters A-M will be asked to call on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
• Those with last names beginning with letters N-Z will be asked to call on Mondays and Wednesdays between 7:30am – 6pm.
• Fridays (7:30am – 6pm) will be available for anyone to accommodate those who could not file during their allotted window.The day or time of day in which a claim is filed will not impact whether you receive benefits or your benefit amount. Additionally, claims will be back-dated to reflect the date in which a claimant was laid-off or let go from their job due to COVID-19.
IDES is currently working through an unparalleled number of unemployment benefit claims and questions, both online and through the call center. Over the first three weeks of March, IDES has received over 130,000 unemployment benefit claims, an increase of close to 400% compared to the corresponding weeks the prior year. The department received close to 115,000 claims for the week of March 21 alone, an increase of nearly 1,400% compared to the corresponding week the prior year. Additionally, the call center continues to field hundreds of calls per minute, per day.
The administration and the department understand and empathize with the heightened level of frustration this crisis has had on those wishing to file a claim. IDES is doing everything possible to support our customers and meet the demand for unemployment benefit inquiries and claims.
Those with questions or in need of assistance with unemployment benefit at this time are encouraged to visit IDES.Illinois.gov.
* And I received this early today from a longtime reader…
Hey Rich,
I got furloughed today. Was expecting it. Still, after so many years of struggling was disappointing to hear. Nonetheless:
I wanted to report that the IDES website and the DHS website both worked perfectly Thursday at 3 p.m. My only criticism was that they both used terminology that the average Illinois citizen wouldn’t understand, and there weren’t any special options for COVID-19 furloughs to explain their situation.
* Problems are understandable considering the enormous spike, which the New York Times put on its front page today…
As I said yesterday, my main beef was that DoIT told the governor the problem was fixed on Monday, which he then relayed to the public. That was clearly not the case.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 12:37 pm
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DoIT was supposed to consolidate tech people into one agency to make development and implementation more efficient. And it has, to a degree, but it had also removed tech from oversight by the agencies charged with using the new tech. As a result, they don’t always understand all of the details and can’t respond to last minute corrections. Overall the benefits are mixed.
Comment by Socially DIstant watcher Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 12:57 pm
IN all my years of working with DoIT and other state IT services they have never had the budget nor staff to do their job right. I feel bad for these folks.
Comment by NeverPoliticallyCorrect Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 12:58 pm
=== Staggers application times ===
Now do shopping days, please.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 1:05 pm
==- Yellow Dog Democrat - Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 1:05 pm:==
We should all be looking at a regional warehouse chain on how to prepare for a pandemic
https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/heb-prepared-coronavirus-pandemic/
Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 1:07 pm
=== Staggers application times ===
Shades of the OPEC gas crisis when gasoline was rationed based on license plate numbers.
Comment by Huh? Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 1:49 pm
I got signed up ok but now it is impossible to log on and certify for the last two weeks. They sent me a debit card but of course no money on it yet.
Comment by NievaI Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 3:13 pm
Nieval - direct deposit is the better way to go if you can. The debit card has fees. You can make the change online, if you can get back in.
Comment by JT11505 Friday, Mar 27, 20 @ 3:31 pm
I’ve been on unemployment since Dec. and now you stopped it and made me reapply. I’ve been with out a payment since 02-29-2020. could you explain that ???
Comment by Ken Monday, Mar 30, 20 @ 1:12 pm
I exhausted my benefits last year…so it won’t let me apply .. Can I get unemployment based on the stimulus package since my benefits were exhausted
Comment by Shirley Monday, Mar 30, 20 @ 2:07 pm
I have been trying to certify on both my designated day and now today and have had no luck on the web site. Just stalls when I go to Certify. On hold now but have been for the past hour.
Comment by Katie Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 8:55 am
When will IDES update the site to remove the message..you have exhausted your benefits so I can file for employment
Comment by Tyler Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 3:00 pm
I tried to certify on the IDES site and on the automated phone number. Unfortunately for some reason both sent me to the IDES 1 800 number. I have been trying to get through to someone for 3 weeks. I have sent emails and no one has responded.
Comment by Carmen Tuesday, Apr 14, 20 @ 9:49 am