Workers, Illinois Lawmakers Take Issue With Continued Problems With Unemployment Computer System
Since day one, we have been pushing for answers about the State of Illinois' overwhelmed computer system.
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Since day one, we have been pushing for answers about the State of Illinois' overwhelmed computer system.
"So many families are hurting at a scale that this country hasn't seen ever in our lifetime, and our state unemployment filing systems – which were built a decade ago for a much lower number of claims – simply haven't kept pace," Pritzker said Monday at his daily COVID-19 briefing.
Millions of Americans and thousands of Chicagoans are out of work, so where do they turn now?
More than 200,000 people filed first-time unemployment claims in Illinois this week, breaking the record set last week. All those claims in the system also complicates what matters for people already approved.
"Almost no state has this available to them because you have to build a system. It's not something you add on to existing systems."
The streets outside Skills for Chicagoland's future are about as empty as the downtown office itself, but don't let the empty chairs fool you.
For many unemployed workers across the state, help is not coming easy. CBS 2 has been getting email from viewers who say they have been spending hours online or on the phone with no results.
CBS 2 continues to track issues with the state's unemployment system, which is still overwhelmed by requests amid the coronavirus crash.
Some businesses are having massive layoffs and may never reopen as the statewide stay-at-home order keeps non-essential businesses closed.
Millions of small businesses are expected to apply for these desperately needed rescue loans from the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which was put in place to help them retain workers and pay bills during the coronavirus pandemic.
Small businesses struggling through the lockdown can start getting help from the federal government Friday.
With a glitching system and calls that are never answered getting in the way for those trying to file for unemployment in Illinois, one woman said she has been stuck waiting not for days, but for weeks.
CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov on Thursday examined the growing frustration from some people trying to get help amid surging unemployment.
Just last month, the U.S. Department of Labor warned that Illinois was one of a handful of states that would not be able to handle a surge of unemployment claims on its own.
There were 178,133 unemployment claims filed during the week of March 23 in the state of Illinois.
"The key thing here is no one should lose their home whether it's a small time owner-occupied property, we don't want that property owner to lose their home. But we don't want the tenants to lose their homes either."
"We've asked people to stagger their application processes, their calls, as well as their online applications, because frankly the systems weren't built, nor was the staffing built to withstand this kind of onslaught," Gov. JB Pritzker said.
In the first three weeks of March alone, there have been over 130,000 unemployment benefit claims in Illinois - with so many people out of work and needing money the state is having trouble keeping up.
Illinois small businesses are adapting to delivery and online sales just to stay alive, but will customers even find them? Students at the University of Chicago have rushed to the challenge.
The math is staggering – according to the U.S. Department of Labor, there were 114,663 unemployment claims in Illinois alone last week amid the coronavirus crisis.
"I think most people understand that its pretty congested right now. So I'm being patient."
There were 114,663 unemployment claims in Illinois for the week that ended March 21, up more than 10 times for the week prior, when there were 10,870 jobless claims in the state.
Roughly 3.3 million people filed a claim for jobless aid in the week ending March 21, a nearly fivefold increase over the previous record in 1982.
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It's set to be a frigid playoff clash on Sunday night as the Bears aim to get to the NFC Championship Game. Chicago will welcome the Los Angeles Rams to Soldier Field with temperatures in the teens and wind chills in the single digits.
The Bears will have backups in a couple of key spots on both sides of the ball on Sunday when they take on the Rams in the divisional round, with linebacker TJ Edwards and left tackle Ozzy Trapilo done for the season after getting injured against the Packers in the first round of the playoffs.
This year's Bears team has earned a high-stakes nickname – the "Cardiac Bears" – thanks to seven 4th quarter comeback victories, and that moniker might be truer than you know. A Chicago doctor saved another fan's life at Soldier Field this season after she suffered a medical emergency in the stands.
The Bears will welcome the Rams to Soldier Field on Sunday with temperatures in the teens and wind chills in the single digits.
Three former DePaul University basketball players are among 26 players charged in an NCAA men's basketball game fixing scheme.
A driver was killed in a crash involving a car and a school bus was just outside Manhattan, Illinois, southwest of Chicago on Thursday morning.
President Trump threatened Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell anti-ICE protests in Minnesota. He previously threatened to do so in Chicago, but never followed through.
Bally's Chicago might not open its $1.7 billion permanent casino in the River West neighborhood in September as planned, and is seeking state permission to keep its temporary facility at Medinah Temple open up to as late as September 2027.
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Mikael Backlund and Yegor Sharangovich each had a goal and an assist as the Calgary Flames beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1.
The Bears will welcome the Rams to Soldier Field on Sunday with temperatures in the teens and wind chills in the single digits.
After signing the third-richest contract in Chicago Cubs history and changing his jersey number to No. 3, third baseman Alex Bregman said his biggest priorities are his family and winning a third World Series championship.
The Bears will have backups in a couple of key spots on both sides of the ball on Sunday when they take on the Rams on Sunday, but other than that, it's a relatively clean playoff injury report.
The Chicago Cubs introduced third baseman Alex Bregman at Wrigley Field on Thursday, after signing him to a $175 million, five-year contract.
Chicago police have issued a community alert on a string of burglaries this week targeting businesses from the north lakefront to the Southwest Side.
Burglars broke into a bar in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood early Thursday morning.
A teen stood charged Thursday with shooting a young woman in the mouth in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood earlier this week.
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