Over 95,000 Unemployment Claims Filed In Illinois Last Week Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Illinois' estimated claims were among 900,000 filed across the country.
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Illinois' estimated claims were among 900,000 filed across the country.
IDES continues to blame the federal government for a lag in implementing a new law that could make life a whole lot easier for several people.
One woman has called the governor's office, her state senator, and the Illinois Department of Employment Security more than 50 times in search of help with an unemployment overpayment.
With the Illinois Department of Employment Security failing to address issues with unemployment claims properly, a Glenview man had to take them to court to get his benefits.
One of the biggest problems faced by the Illinois Department of Employment Security continues to be skyrocketing fraud claims.
Illinois' estimated claims last week were among 965,000 total filed across the country.
Illinois' estimated claims last week were among 787,000 total filed across the country.
In a double hit to those out of work during the pandemic, the State of Illinois has told some people to give back their unemployment money. On Wednesday, there was possible relief.
The state says it wants to hear from the people who got the personal information, but when those people call no one is listening.
The list of victims is getting longer – the unlucky residents whose names and Social Security numbers were shared with strangers by the State of Illinois.
Expanded unemployment benefits are set to run out Saturday for as many as 12 million Americans.
For comparison, during the same timeframe last year, 16,669 people filed claims in Illinois. That's a 770% increase.
News of a federal economic relief package means a lifeline for so many struggling in Illinois. The unemployment rate in Illinois is about 7 percent – nearly double what it was at the same time last year.
Unemployment keeps soaring. But there are still thousands who have been in the system and still are not getting paid.
Illinois' estimated claims last week were among 885,000 total filed across the country.
A La Grange Park woman has an active unemployment claim – and thanks to fraudsters, so does her father, who died more than a year ago.
We have heard from dozens of people in the past couple of weeks who say they are getting notices that they owe money back to the state.
ID.me software both verifies identities and weeds out bad actors in minutes, and the states that use it say they are seeing some success with the software.
Illinois' estimated claims last week were among 853,000 total filed across the country.
The proposed $908 billion coronavirus relief package is gaining traction in Congress. But will it be enough, and will it come in time?
Christina Hill finally got a job after 10 months of unemployment – but now, she is getting letters saying she should never have gotten unemployment money and she owes $30,000 back to the State of Illinois.
Right along with increasing unemployment claims in Illinois come increasing problems for people still struggling to get benefits or fighting to clear their names after being victims of fraud.
Illinois' estimated claims were among 712,000 total filed across the country last week.
When we introduced you to Kevin McKay on Monday, we told you he has gone eight months with no job and no unemployment benefits because of problems with the state.
CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov found one man who is stuck with no job and no money – and who is getting no help from the state's unemployment office.
Michael Busch had two hits and two RBIs, helping Colin Rea and the Chicago Cubs top the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.
A man was in custody after a woman was found strangled to death on Thursday night in northwest suburban Schaumburg.
The FBI and police in west suburban Naperville were investigating an armed robbery at a Bank of America branch on Friday morning.
A man was charged after loaded guns and drugs were found inside a Country Club Hills home on Tuesday.
Chief Geoff Guttschow, who has an autistic child who drives, says the Blue Envelope Program gives officers a tool to recognize when a driver may need additional communication support.
Elmwood Park, Center Cass, Oak Lawn Hometown, and Atwood Heights are among the Illinois districts being investigated by the Justice Department over classroom instruction on gender and sexuality.
Negotiations over a $500 million dollar government aid package for Spirit stalled after bondholders balked at the terms.
The longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history came to an end on Thursday when President Trump signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security following a breakthrough on Capitol Hill.
The Coast Guard will run out of funding to pay personnel on May 1, with the first missed paychecks expected May 15.
Illinois lawmakers are not planning to pursue a constitutional amendment on redistricting after a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Chicago gas prices are spiking as the war with Iran drags on, with regular gas nearing $6 in some spots and premium already selling for more than $7 in some places.
In the legal venue of anti-trust enforcement, the state is not taking on the Trump administration, but rather filling a void that state officials say the Trump administration has vacated.
A passenger on an American Airlines flight from New York to Chicago has been charged with making a false bomb threat that forced an emergency landing at Detroit Metro Airport last month, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Skyrocketing property taxes continue to be a hot-button issue in Cook County — particularly since last fall, when many residents saw their tax bills increase by 100% or more.
The second-largest physicians' group in the U.S. has issued a surprising switch in breast cancer screening recommendations.
A new $48 million wellness center opened Thursday in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. The goal is to improve the health and quality of life for people on the West Side of Chicago.
La Rabida Children's Hospital went all out for Earth Day on Wednesday, with volunteer cleanup efforts by staffers and activities for patients and families.
It has been several weeks since West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Illinois, abruptly shut down — and then on Wednesday, it just as swiftly partially reopened, with some services available.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 80% of deaths related to pregnancy are preventable, and Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Activists worldwide will commemorate "May Day," also known as "International Workers' Day," on Friday.
A $170 million-plus plan announced this week will redevelop the Water Tower Place mall on the Magnificent Mile.
The Holiday Club in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood will soon be going out of business, as the building that houses the popular bar is set to be torn down.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the Lincolnwood Village Board approved a pre-development agreement with the mall, providing a roadmap with the property owner for further preparations and government approvals for redevelopment.
The only remaining location of Pal Joey's pizzeria in Batavia, Illinois, will soon be going out of business, its owner announced this week.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
Jake was at the funeral for one of his closest friends when he learned of his parents' deaths, he said.
Tickets for the 2026 Ravinia Festival season went on sale Thursday morning.
CPS left it up to individual schools to participate in May Day events, but sources say only a few took advantage of district-provided buses, with most principals opting out.
A 15-year-old boy has been charged with shooting and killing a man while the victim was driving in March in northwest suburban Palatine, causing him to crash into several parked cars and a dumpster.
A man was in custody after a woman was found strangled to death on Thursday night in northwest suburban Schaumburg.
The FDA has approved cryoablation — a procedure that freezes and kills small breast tumors without surgery — for women over 70 with low-risk cancer, though some experts question whether it prevents recurrence as well as traditional lumpectomy.
A shark zeroed in on one of two surfers off the California coast and followed him for more than a mile before finally losing interest, the surfers said.
As many as 150,000 Illinois SNAP participants will lose their benefits on Friday due to new, stricter eligibility rules in the Trump Administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill."
Activists worldwide will commemorate "May Day," also known as "International Workers' Day," on Friday.
A second man was charged in the dollar store robbery that led last weekend's shooting at Swedish Hospital.
Negotiations over a $500 million dollar government aid package for Spirit stalled after bondholders balked at the terms.
A man was in custody after a woman was found strangled to death on Thursday night in northwest suburban Schaumburg.
An elderly woman has essentially abandoned her home of three decades because of constantly broken elevators at her high-rise condo building on the Southwest Side of Chicago.
Violent retail crime is on the rise in Illinois, according to a new report from the Illinois Organized Retail Crime Association.
A top administrator in the Libertyville school district has been placed on leave after a fiery school board meeting focused on how the district handled allegations of grooming leveled against a former teacher.
Potholes along one stretch of road in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood are so bad, people say they damage their cars just getting to work.
There are so many issues with the DNA evidence in the case that Payne's conviction has been overturned, and a retrial has been ordered.
Michael Busch had two hits and two RBIs, helping Colin Rea and the Chicago Cubs top the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.
The Kentucky Derby will see a full field of 20 horses in the first leg of the 2026 competition for horse racing's Triple Crown.
Seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins has only been with the Sky for about three weeks, but it's clear she's already one of the leaders of the team.
The Cubs have won 12 of their last 15 games.
Reese is all smiles as she returns to Chicago to face her former team, the Sky, in preseason action on Wednesday night.
Chief Geoff Guttschow, who has an autistic child who drives, says the Blue Envelope Program gives officers a tool to recognize when a driver may need additional communication support.
A woman has been charged with shooting a 15-year-old boy outside an indoor track facility near Gately Park in Chicago in 2024, after getting into a fight with another woman during a back-to-school event in the Pullman neighborhood.
Sexual abuse charges were filed this week against a Park City, Illinois, police officer.
Attorneys for the man convicted of the murders of two girls in Delphi, Indiana, have filed a new brief with the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn his case.
Attorneys for a woman convicted of killing her 69-year-old landlord in Chicago's Arcadia Terrace community have filed an appeal.