McHenry Times

State Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) has unleashed scathing criticism against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his Administration, accusing them of concealing critical information regarding the dysfunction within the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) during and after the pandemic. 

A recently released audit has shed light on the alarming extent of wrongful payments amounting to $5.24 billion made by IDES from 2020 to 2022, far worse than previously believed. 

“Throughout the pandemic and beyond, Governor Pritzker and members of his Administration have done everything they can to keep information regarding the depth of dysfunction at IDES hidden,” Wilcox said in a statement. “Now, thanks to an audit requested by Republican Senator Chapin Rose, we have more answers about the level of wrongful payments made by IDES from 2020-2022, and the issue was much worse than anyone thought.” 

“This audit shines a light on the complete incompetence of Governor Pritzker’s Department of Employment Security during the pandemic. The worst part is that a lot of this $5.24 billion in overpayments was preventable. If the Pritzker Administration had insisted on a proper eligibility review of each application and adopted federal fraud-prevention guidelines, they would not have been issuing payments to fraudsters who stole identities or filed as people who were deceased or in prison.” 

“The Governor and top officials at IDES never took responsibility for their sloppiness and have yet to apologize to the hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans who were affected by their incompetence. At a time when the people of Illinois needed their government most, Governor Pritzker and his officials at IDES failed them. Instead, taxpayers and businesses are now left on the hook to pay for the incompetence and gross negligence of this Administration. The people of Illinois deserve much better.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker himself refused to discuss the report, instead pointing to IDES. In response, IDES spokeswoman Rebecca Cisco called out the administration of former president Donald Trump who she said required the state to use “a poorly designed and brand new unemployment insurance program on their own in record time with continuously changing federal guidance,” according to Chicago Tribune. However, the actual audit paints a different story, placing the responsibility directly on Pritzker and IDES. 

“IDES was not prepared to respond to the needs created by the pandemic,” the report from Auditor General Frank Mautino’s office stated. “IDES did not have a plan for responding to recessions and potential surges in claims.”

The performance audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General highlights key findings related to the unemployment programs administered by the Illinois Department of Employment Security during the period of March 1, 2020, to Sept. 6, 2021. The audit reveals significant issues with overpayments, including fraud and identity theft, totaling $5.24 billion in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs. The report also identifies challenges IDES faced during the pandemic, such as delays in processing claims and susceptibility to fraud due to suspended defenses. The audit report contains seven recommendations for IDES to improve its operations and prevent future issues with unemployment benefits distribution. The report’s key findings detail the fraud undertaken.

“Overpayments (which include fraud, non-fraud, and identity theft) were an issue in both the regular UI and PUA programs. IDES reported overpayments for FY20 to FY22 that totaled $5.24 billion; regular UI accounted for $2.04 billion and PUA accounted for $3.20 billion,” the performance audit reads. “Considering gross benefits associated with regular UI claims were 2.5 times higher than gross benefits associated with PUA claims, it shows the magnitude of fraud experienced in the PUA program. IDES noted stopped or recovered payments of $150.36 million and $361.34 million for the regular UI and PUA programs respectively.”

Mautino further found IDES failed to maintain appropriate records. The audit found IDES failed to maintain accurate and complete accounting records and supporting documents for the Trust Fund, raising concerns about the internal controls safeguarding Trust Fund assets. As a result, auditors were unable to determine the opening net position and activity for the year ended June 30, 2022, impacting the statements of revenues, expenses, and changes in net position and cash flows. The audit also highlighted the Department's mishandling of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claimant data, leading to challenges in assessing claimants' eligibility. Additionally, improper recording of receivables and mismanagement of overpayment receivables were noted, prompting the need for better financial reporting controls, according to the Office of the Auditor General's report. 

Read the Auditor General’s audit, report, and findings HERE.