IDES Woes Continue To Plague The Unemployed; 'It's Frustrating'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In Illinois, the employment outlook is improving slowly.
There were just over 45,000 jobless claims filed the week of June 22. That's about a thousand fewer than the previous week. But some people who applied for unemployment still haven't gotten paid.
Joe Psioda was laid off from an accounting job.
At first, he was able to file and get his first round of unemployment money with the Illinois Department o f Employment Security (IDES.)
But that all changed. Even though he followed the rules to certify, after calling more than what he says was literally, 1,000 times, he almost always getting a busy signal.
When he was able to get through, he was told he needed to file an entirely new claim. That left him with more than seven weeks of unemployment money not sent.
"Over a thousand times. It's frustrating. Meanwhile the bills are coming in. I've got to have money to pay those bills. It's just nerve racking," Psioda said.
Joe said one big help would be to have more IDES workers available to take calls later in the evening and on weekends. Last week, the acting director of IDES said they receive about 200,000 calls a week. The agency said it only has the capacity to respond to 15% of callers.
RELATED: Over 45,000 Unemployment Claims In Illinois This Week
