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.
Joliet police said Joseph D. Johnson, 29, was released from medical care at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood on Sunday morning.
Village President Fitzgerald Roberts said that the repairs on Paige were completed at around 3 p.m.
An Illinois State Police squad car was struck and damaged on Route 53 in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
Chicago police were on the scene of a SWAT incident in the North Edgebrook neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side.
Police in Joliet, Illinois, were searching Sunday for a man who held up a cellphone store this weekend.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
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.
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.
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.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
Neighbors said 33-year-old Dominique Servant and her boyfriend, 38-year-old Joey Ruffin, charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment, but kept to themselves.
Suzanne Le Mignot recently celebrated a milestone with her 400th HIIT class at Orangetheory River North, while Mary Kay Kleist shows us an ice chapel built at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has your 6 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
Families and coaches are beyond proud that their players are representing their communities in the big game. Asal Rezaei reports.
Police were investigating after a 10-year-old girl was found dead in Chicago’s Bronzeville community this weekend.
A mother and her boyfriend will appear at a detention hearing on Monday after her 8-year-old son was found dead in their home from apparent abuse and malnourishment.
A driver was killed early Sunday when a sport-utility vehicle hit a Chicago Transit Authority bus in Chicago's Pilsen community.
Village President Fitzgerald Roberts said that the repairs on Paige were completed at around 3 p.m.
Joliet police said Joseph D. Johnson, 29, was released from medical care at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood on Sunday morning.
Not sure where to watch the 2026 Super Bowl live? There are multiple ways to watch the game for free today. Here's how.
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.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
Lindsey Vonn, who came out of retirement to compete in the Milano Cortina Games, is in stable condition after her crash.
Not sure where to watch the 2026 Super Bowl live? There are multiple ways to watch the game for free today. Here's how.
Family and former coaches expressed pride knowing that players will be representing their communities on one of the biggest stages in sports.
Illinois led 39-35 at halftime after six ties and nine lead changes and was ahead by nine points early in the second half.
The Bulls led 104-97 after closing the third period on a 16-2 run, but Denver started the final quarter on a 20-2 spurt to take the lead for good.
Police in Joliet, Illinois, were searching Sunday for a man who held up a cellphone store this weekend.
A woman was in custody after another woman was slashed in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood this weekend.
Local and federal authorities said "investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity" regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
