Citing the Illinois Department of Employment Security’s many failures during the Coronavirus lockdown, State Representative Brad Halbrook today called for a complete audit of the agency. Halbrook is co-sponsoring House Resolution 860 which calls for the Auditor General to conduct a forensic audit of IDES practices and finances.
“The agency’s response in this time of crisis has been nothing short of a disaster,” said Halbrook (R-Shelbyville). “Not only have families thrown out of work by the shut-down been left waiting weeks or even months for a response to their claims, a data breach on the IDES website left them open to identity theft. We need to get to the bottom of this complete failure.”
Halbrook 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.
“The Governor has been dodging questions about the IDES failures for months while more than a million workers he threw off the job are still struggling to get their unemployment claims processed. I need to know why drastic business closure policies were enacted without even basic resources in place needed to help displaced workers,” Rep. Halbrook said.
Rep. Halbrook and his House Republican colleagues will push for passage of HR 860, calling for a full forensic audit of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, when the legislature returns to Springfield.