SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) was grilled by state lawmakers Tuesday morning. It was the first time lawmakers were able to ask questions about the two-year audit that showed the agency's mismanagement throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many people across the state who lost their jobs during the pandemic never received unemployment payments, but IDES processed $5.2 billion in fraudulent claims. The Illinois Auditor General's office found that the regular unemployment system accounted for roughly $2 billion in fraud, while the pandemic unemployment system had $3.2 billion of overpayments.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers understand that every state dealt with unprecedented unemployment claims once the pandemic started. However, they are frustrated that IDES didn't try harder to prevent fraud.
"The U.S. Department of Labor introduced additional crossmatches to combat fraud in October 2021 and February 2022 that IDES was not yet utilizing," said Joe Butcher, director of the Auditor General's performance audit division. "These were the prisoner update processing system and the bank account verification service."
Auditors found that IDES failed to maintain accurate and complete data for claimants in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance System. 480 dead people received over 10,500 unemployment payments that totaled $6 million. 92,000 payments went to 3,448 people behind bars. The Auditor General's office found that inmates received $40.5 million in benefits.Â
Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) said it is ridiculous that IDES had no way of stopping that money from being sent to people on the state's log of inmates.
"I believe the figure was of that $5 billion, at least $40.5 million was to inmates. Inmates," stressed Rose. "Explain to me how the administration can look anybody in the eye and tell them they did everything they could do to stop this and prevent this."
Lawmakers had to direct all of their questions to the agency's acting director who took over IDES in January.
"I always find it interesting when someone with the title acting comes to this committee because it usually means there was one hell of a mess that preceded them," Rose said. "What I've learned over the years is that when the acting director shows up, that's when you start asking questions about what the hell happened."
Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) talks to leaders from the Illinois Department of Employment Security during an audit commission hearing on November 7, 2023.
Ray Marchiori was familiar with many of the issues IDES faced during the pandemic as he was the chief of staff since 2019. Marchiori told lawmakers the agency was getting its sea legs as the tsunami of unemployment claims hit the department.
"While the department is incredibly proud of its achievements as an economic first responder, the rigor of the exponential, and I would say astronomical, increase in workload revealed challenges and areas in need of enhancement, improvement and change," Marchiori said. "These challenges are now opportunities."
Marchiori said he is committed to making the department better prepared if IDES is called upon again to lead and provide essential relief during an economic crisis. Still, Democrats and Republicans said IDES must be more transparent.
"I'm hoping that moving forward the agency will be more receptive to the General Assembly when we do have requests," said Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates). "It's just basically so we can learn. We can talk to our constituents and let them know that this is a real issue here."
Rose said he would like to see a future audit examining how the Attorney General's office is helping IDES find people who stole unemployment benefits and retrieve that money.
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