Springfield, IL… On Saturday, the Illinois House of Representatives approved House Resolution 226 calling upon the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) to reopen their public-access public employment offices to provide face-to-face help to residents who urgently need assistance with processing their unemployment claims.
According to State Representative David Friess, “For months now, we have been pleading with Governor Pritzker and the Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security to open their offices. We passed House Resolution 226 as a way to get their attention. If the Secretary of State’s local offices have been open for almost a year, there is no reason for keeping IDES’ local offices closed. People are suffering, and it is time they get help.”
IDES public-access employment offices have been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of today, local IDES offices remain closed. HR226, co-sponsored by Rep. Friess, seeks to change that by urging IDES to reopen their offices immediately.