HR0860 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0860 LRB101 21573 MST 72499 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On May 15, 2020, several members of the General Assembly received panicked phone calls and emails concerning private personal identification information, such as social security numbers, addresses, and birth dates, being published publicly on the Illinois Department of Employment Security's (IDES) website; and

WHEREAS, The private information being published by IDES pertained to tens of thousands of individuals who had applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits as a result of the government shut down of businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, Governor Pritzker and IDES entered into two no-bid contracts with private sector companies totaling $22 million of taxpayer money to help assist in upgrading IDES's antiquated website and claims systems; and

WHEREAS, Prior to May 11, 2020, the day the new IDES became operational, the general public and members of the General Assembly were assured that upon completion of the upgrades to the system then IDES would be able to handle the large number of applications more efficiently, and the application process for unemployment benefits would be easier and more secure; and

WHEREAS, Since the beginning of the government shut down of businesses on March 16, 2020, a record number of over one million Illinoisans have filed for unemployment benefits, with many having to repeatedly call IDES while waiting for weeks without income; and

WHEREAS, Upon learning about the publication of the private personal information on IDES's website, Representative Terri Bryant immediately notified members of the Governor's staff and the IDES staff and asked them to resolve the data breach; and

WHEREAS, The day following the data breach, having not received sufficient answers as to how the breach happened and who was affected, Representative Terri Bryant submitted a letter to the Governor's office requesting those answers; and

WHEREAS, On May 21, 2020, five days after the request for answers from the Governor's office and still not having received an adequate response, a subsequent letter was sent from several members of the House Republican Caucus asking that the Governor respond; and

WHEREAS, Every day that goes by without knowing whose information was published, how long the information was available, and who was able to access the information leaves thousands of Illinoisans, who are already suffering from job loss, vulnerable to identity theft; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is directed to conduct an audit of the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the unemployment benefits application system; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to, the following determinations:

(1) For what period of time the personal information of unemployment applicants was available for access by other applicants and the public;

(2) Whether or not the data breach has been fully resolved;

(3) The possibility of another data breach;

(4) The number of applicants whose information was published;

(5) The vulnerability to identity theft or other security issues of those whose information was published;

(6) Any other vulnerabilities regarding the information of the millions of Illinoisans who have applied for unemployment benefits; and

(7) A review of the contracts awarded to Deloitte Consulting for assisting IDES in the upgrading of its IT services; and be it further

RESOLVED, That IDES and any other State agency or entity having information relevant to the audit shall cooperate fully and promptly in the conduct of the audit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Auditor General shall commence this audit as soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations upon completion to the Governor and each of the four leaders of the General Assembly; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Legislative Audit Commission is urged to review the findings of this audit in a public meeting, and the General Assembly is urged to take any actions that it deems necessary or desirable to implement the recommendations made by the audit and to remedy any problems or dysfunctions uncovered by the audit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, Department of Employment Security Acting Director Thomas Chan, Auditor General Frank J. Mautino, and Legislative Audit Commission Executive Director Jane Stricklin.