Peoria Woman Receives Unemployment Benefits Card For Mom Who's Been Dead Two Years
"If we're just wasting more money by creating these beautiful IDES, cards and mailing them out across our state, it's ridiculous," Cindy Pille said.
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"If we're just wasting more money by creating these beautiful IDES, cards and mailing them out across our state, it's ridiculous," Cindy Pille said.
As many wait for unemployment benefits or the debits cards they need to access that money, it turns out some people are getting those cards in the mail when they never even applied for unemployment.
Many jobless Illinois workers have taken advantage of the state's new feature in which they can skip countless calling and long hold times and let someone from the state's Department of Employment Security call them back. The problem is, some wait times have turned into days.
CBS 2's dozens of reports raised questions about IDES' overwhelmed system and uncovered how, in case after case, people were unable to successfully file for unemployment or get their benefits for months
The state system built to offer lifelines to those who are out of work is riddled with gaffes, according to one worker empathizing with people waiting months for unemployment money.
"We are still clearly not out of the weeds."
CBS 2 is Working for Chicago by getting advice from our career coach every Thursday.
Imagine taking the time to certify for unemployment benefits almost 20 times and still not seeing a dime. CBS 2 is Working for Chicago with reporting that uncovers failures by the state.
When Trump last campaigned in the state in January, the unemployment rate was 3.5%; now, 12% of workers are jobless.
CBS 2 is Working for Chicago as we continue to hear that many people are waiting to receive benefits they are owed. Some are struggling to get simple answers from the state.
Hundreds of phone calls, but no solution – we continue to hear from people who can't get through for help with unemployment claims or the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.
Audits are holding up the federal money they're desperate for - that's what some gig workers tell CBS 2.
We're getting answers to your unemployment questions as CBS 2 continues Working For Chicago.
Just in the past week, we've heard from dozens of people who are still waiting on unemployment benefits – some since March.
There were 1,542,000 new claims filed across the country last week.
Around 2.5 million people got jobs in May, dropping the unemployment rate to 13.3%. More than half of those jobs added were at food and drinking establishments, but the overall unemployment numbers are still staggering.
The unemployment rate took a surprising drop, but while hope exists the road to recovery remains uncertain.
Are you thinking about changing industries during this difficult time?
"It's still difficult to get through and the websites don't work."
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Tuesday announced 1,614 new cases of COVID-19, and 113 additional deaths.
Felice had just started a new job in March, then the pandemic hit.
We have taken the allegations made by IDES workers to Gov. JB Pritzker to see how he plans to address the concerns they brought up.
CBS 2's extensive reporting as part of its "Working for Chicago" series continues to uncover how the state's system for applying for and processing unemployment claims is not only overwhelmed, but incapable of handling the extraordinary number of new claims from the beginning.
But for every 10 layoffs, three new jobs are created. CBS 2 is still tracking new openings in the Chicago area.
Aviation Institute of Maintenance students learned about the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, specifically Chicago's DODO chapter.
CBS News Chicago is tracking what led to the death of an 8-year-old boy in Round Lake Beach and whether state officials were aware of any red flags before his murder.
An Indiana bride said a Chicago hotel workers' union has harassed her for months while she's been trying to plan her July wedding over a hotel listed on her wedding website.
J Balvin and Kali Uchis are among the names taking the stage at this year's festival.
The city of Chicago cleared a homeless encampment from a Northwest Side park Tuesday morning.
DuPage County opened up its polls for early voting in the 2026 primary on Tuesday after a snag.
Chicago aldermen this week will consider $29.2 million in settlements in wrongful convictions linked to disgraced former CPD Det. Reynaldo Guevara.
Two Illinois state legislators want to make sure school districts get the funding they need.
The official DHS statistics, which had not been previously reported, provide the most detailed look yet into who ICE has arrested during the Trump administration's crackdown.
President Trump criticized Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess after he and other American athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics shared their thoughts on U.S. politics.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny took the stage on Sunday dressed in all white, donning a jersey with his last name, Ocasio, and the number 64.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
Bad Bunny took the stage at halftime for the 2026 Super Bowl. Here's who else performed at Super Bowl 60.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
It’s taken Nest and law enforcement 10 days to extract images of Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper since cameras were not connected to the cloud and did not save recorded images.
A good Samaritan stepped in and saved a pregnant woman's life in Florida after her car crashed into a pond.
CBS News Chicago is tracking what led to the death of an 8-year-old boy in Round Lake Beach, and pressing the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about whether they were aware of any past abuse allegations involving the boy's mother and her boyfriend, who have been charged with his murder.
Students at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Chicago learned about the Tuskegee Airmen's contribution to the profession during a ceremony honoring the legacy of the city's chapter.
The Langham Hotel in Chicago has been ranked Illinois' best hotel, and the third best overall hotel in the entire United States.
An Indiana bride said a Chicago hotel workers' union has harassed her for months while she's been trying to plan her July wedding over a hotel listed on her wedding website.
CBS News Chicago is tracking what led to the death of an 8-year-old boy in Round Lake Beach and whether state officials were aware of any red flags before his murder.
Aviation Institute of Maintenance students learned about the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, specifically Chicago's DODO chapter.
Disturbing details of the deadly shooting of a Joliet mother and her 4-year-old son were revealed in court documents as the accused shooter was denied pre-trial release.
J Balvin and Kali Uchis are among the names taking the stage at this year's festival.
CBS News Chicago is tracking what led to the death of an 8-year-old boy in Round Lake Beach and whether state officials were aware of any red flags before his murder.
This is due in part to the new "Big Beautiful Bill" and job cuts at the Internal Revenue Service.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
Indiana plans to build a bronze statue of longtime basketball coach Bob Knight inside Assembly Hall, where he led the Hoosiers to national championships in 1976, 1981 and 1987.
Keith Brookshire details his friendship with Seattle Seahawks wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson and the generosity he continues to provide to Chicago student athletes.
Anfernee Simons scored 23 points for Chicago, which lost its fifth straight.
Here is a look at where the medal count stands for Team USA and other nations as the competition heats up at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Some 2026 Winter Olympics athletes say their winning medals are falling apart, coming detached from their ribbons.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted videos of a person outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Savannah Guthrie, on the morning of her disappearance.
Kouri Richins allegedly poisoned her husband Eric by putting a fatal dose of fentanyl in his drink, leading to his sudden death in 2022.
A woman stood charged Tuesday with slashing a woman in a fight in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood this past weekend.
A man has been charged and extradited from Iowa in a 2024 shooting that left another man dead in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.
A Wisconsin woman has been charged in the shooting death of a man last week in Chicago's western suburbs.
