It’s been more than a year since Illinois’ unemployment claims peaked and yet, thousands of people are still waiting for call backs from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. A Freedom of Information Act request has revealed a backlog of 43,355 calls from Illinoisans awaiting a response from the agency as of May 4th.
It does appear they’re making progress as there were 104,626 people waiting for call backs on March 23rd. The decline in calls though could be tied to the state’s downward trend in unemployment claims or callers just flat out giving up, because for unemployed workers seeking help, the phone is their only option. IDES offices have been closed for more than 13 months and no date has been announced for the offices to reopen.
