Single Mom Denied Unemployment For 20 Weeks Because Of Penalty For Issue She Had 2 Years Ago
A struggling single mom told us Tuesday night that she is out of cash - but the state is putting her money on hold for months.
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A struggling single mom told us Tuesday night that she is out of cash - but the state is putting her money on hold for months.
The State of Illinois said it will be another month before the first unemployment payments get to independent contractors and gig workers such as Uber drivers and musicians.
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."
