State Representative Chris Miller today joined his House Republican colleagues in calling for an audit of the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) to investigate the agency’s numerous failures during the recent Coronavirus lockdown. Miller (R-Robinson) is co-sponsoring House Resolution 860 which calls for the Auditor General to conduct a forensic audit of the agency.
“Businesses have been forcibly closed for more than two months, and thousands of workers in my district and across the state who have had no choice but to apply for unemployment have been unable to get their claims processed by IDES,” said Rep. Miller. “When it was most needed, the department completely failed our families. We need to know why.”
In addition to their failed response to claims, Rep. Miller pointed to a recent report of a data breach at the agency that allowed applicants personal information, including complete Social Security numbers, to be viewed on their website.
“This is adding insult to serious injury. Not only were families thrown out of work unable to access the benefits they were entitled to, but they were also put at risk for identity theft. The Pritzker Administration didn’t even respond to the data breach revelations for days after they were notified,” Miller said.
Miller said an independent audit of IDES will reveal important details on how decisions were made and what entities received taxpayer dollars to carry out contract services. He and his House Republican colleagues will push for passage of HR 860, calling on Illinois Auditor General to perform a full forensic audit of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, when the legislature returns to Springfield.