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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois, like every other
3governmental unit across the country, is facing one of the
4most challenging circumstances in recent history with the
5Covid-19 crisis; facing these challenges, ranging from the
6health and well-being of our most vulnerable residents to the
7livelihoods of individuals, has proved incredibly difficult;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, Numerous State agencies have tried to handle the
10challenge and, indeed, much great effort has been exerted;
11however, the need and the demand continue to place an
12incredible strain on our systems; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Nowhere, perhaps, has this been more the case
14than at the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES);
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, In addition to the tremendous cost of life taken
17by this global pandemic, the economic effects on the State
18have left many without a job, a career, and even a business;
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, With the voluminous number of persons that have
21become unemployed, there has been a previously unheard of rate

 

 

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1of individuals seeking UI benefits; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Early on, this demand was met with grossly inept
3deficiencies in our IDES systems that led to serious issues,
4which contributed to various errors and delays; then, to
5compound the problems, it was learned the voluminous number of
6claims led to a series of data breaches and serious
7disruptions to the claim-processing procedures; and
 
8    WHEREAS, IDES, facing these challenges, has taken steps to
9repair the damage that was done and is working to bring new
10protections; IDES has enter into partnerships with
11third-parties and fellow State agencies to make sure these
12same problems are avoided; yet, there remain unresolved
13issues; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The issue of identity theft is a very serious and
15damaging one that was identified by IDES; yet, there were
16additional issues identified with regards to unemployment
17insurance fraud; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The State has established an IDES Identity Theft
19Line, has entered into contracts with outside firms to
20investigate cases of fraud and identified theft, and continues
21to assist impacted individuals; there needs to be a greater
22effort made to protect workers and businesses from being

 

 

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1negatively impacted by this fraudulent activity; and
 
2    WHEREAS, IDES is now faced with the task of helping those
3individuals and businesses that were, are, or will be affected
4by acts of identity theft and unemployment insurance fraud
5stemming from pandemic-related claims; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 2021, there continue to be reports of
7individuals having difficulty applying for and receiving
8unemployment insurance benefits, reports of rampant insurance
9fraud, and failures at the Department level to account for,
10flag, and otherwise contain cases of fraud in the unemployment
11insurance benefit systems; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The various issues that have plagued IDES must be
13completely identified, reviewed, and studied so as to
14understand where there is a need for accountability on the
15part of the Administration and for corrective measures to be
16taken; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
19SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Auditor General is
20directed to conduct a performance audit of the Illinois
21Department of Employment Security's administration of the
22Unemployment Insurance Act; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Employment
2Security and any other State agency, entity, or person that
3may have information relevant to this audit cooperate fully
4and promptly with the Auditor General's office in its conduct;
5and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as
7soon as possible and, upon completion, distribute a report in
8accordance with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing
9Act.