How To Apply For Unemployment In Chicago

When You Go Back To Work

How to apply for unemployment in IL

Whenever you certify, you must report if you worked and/or earned wages for each of the last two weeks. If your earnings match or exceed your weekly benefit amount, you are ineligible to receive benefits for that week. If you included a turn-to-work date in your initial claim, you also cannot receive benefits after this date, unless it is updated in your account.

How To Apply For Illinois Unemployment Online

“How do I file a Illinois Unemployment Claim?” is a common question most recently terminated workers ask. Illinois residents can file an unemployment claim online at . Many claimants who prefer to sign up in person can visit a Illinois unemployment office and use the computers provided and get help if needed.

All applicants should learn how the Illinois unemployment system works as many of the requirements for continuing to receive benefits must be done online. Most applicants prefer to file for Illinois unemployment online as it can be done at their own pace, they can also pause the application in order to find the correct documentation.

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Insured Vs Uninsured Work

Who can file an Illinois unemployment application? Those who qualify for unemployment benefits in Illinois will receive benefits based on insured work. Insured work is performed for an employer who is required to make payments to the state as part of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act.

While most types of work falls under this law, there are some types of work that are considered uninsured work. Wages earned from uninsured work cannot be used as a basis for claiming unemployment benefits.

Some examples of uninsured work include:

Am I Eligible If I Was Laid

Yes. Individuals who have been temporarily laid off due to COVID-19 may be eligible for unemployment benefits as long as they are able, available, and actively seeking work. Under recently adopted emergency rules, the individual does not have to register with the employment service, and is instead considered to be actively seeking work as long as they are prepared to return to his or her job as soon as the employer re-opens.

What If I Leave Work Because My Childs School Has Temporarily Closed And I Feel I Must Stay Home With Them

Under the current circumstances, someone who left work to care for their child could be considered as unemployed through no fault of his her own; in that case, to qualify for UI, the individual would still need to meet all other eligibility requirements.

For more information regarding unemployment due to COVID-19, please review the COVID-19 press release issued by IDES at .

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What Are The Eligibility Requirements

You must be unemployed through no fault of your own. You also must:

be able and available for work;

be actively seeking work.

Undocumented immigrants are not eligible at this time. To be eligible, you must be authorized to work in the U.S.

If you have reduced hours which results in your wages being less than what your unemployment benefit would be, you may qualify for some assistance.

For a full listing of eligibility requirements please review pages 4 through 6 of the IDES Unemployment Insurance Handbook at .

COVID-19:;There are different eligibility requirements if you were temporarily laid-off due to COVID-19 .

What If I Am Denied Benefits

If you file an Illinois unemployment application and are denied, you have the right to file an appeal. You must file your appeal within 30 days after you receive your letter of denial. Your appeal will be heard by an Administrative Law Judge where you will be given the opportunity to present your case. You do have the option of using an attorney or another representative to assist you in your appeal. The state contracts with law firms who can also give you limited legal advice at hearings. For more information about appealing a decision regarding Illinois unemployment, contact 884-6591 or 430-1776 to explore this option.

If your appeal is denied, Illinois unemployment laws guarantee your right to appeal to the Board of Review, an independent five-person body, who will also review your case.; If you are rejected at this level, your final option is to file an appeal with the Circuit Court of the county where you live.

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How To Apply For Unemployment

Enter your zip code to get started.

In areas where there are high levels of unemployment, unemployment extensions are enacted to further support you as you search for employment. In Illinois, you can receive both Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits after you’ve exhausted your normal benefits. Illinois Department of Employment Security runs both extension levels, it also manages your eligibility and distributes your payments. You’ll receive the same amount of payments as normal benefits only that the time is extended to 66 weeks of these extra benefits through extensions.

Illinois unemployment insurance laws oversee how much you can receive in compensation as well. The current amount is 50 percent of the total covered wages you earned during your two highest earning base period quarters. The law also dictates that no more than $330 per week should be paid. The total amount you can receive per claim is one-third of your total base period wages, but the law limits that to 26 times your weekly benefit amount.

Pritzker Ramps Up Measures To Help Residents File Unemployment Claims

Unemployed Workers Frustrated Over State’s Efforts To Apply For Federal Unemployment Help

As the IDES prepares to handle both the growing number of standard unemployment claims as well as additional independent and gig worker claims next week, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker detailed the effort the state has made Thursday in response to technical issues residents have reported while attempting to file for benefits. NBC 5s Mary Ann Ahern reports.

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Illinois Paid Over $2b In Unemployment Claims In First 4 Months Of 2020

Historic numbers of unemployment claims filed in Illinois since March has led to a historic amount of benefits being paid out over the first four months of the year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said on Thursday. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says theyve processed 1,006,925 initial unemployment claims from March 1 to May 2. Thats over 1 million claims in

File An Unemployment Claim

To apply for regular unemployment insurance, click the button below. You’ll be taken to the 10 Things You Should Know page to start the application process.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance applications are being accepted until October 6th, 2021. However, PUA benefits are only payable retroactively through the week ending September 4th, 2021. Learn more and file a PUA claim online.

Once you have filed a claim for regular unemployment benefits, return to this page and click:

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Are You Available And Actively Searching For Work

To maintain your eligibility for unemployment, you must be able to work, available to accept a job, and looking for work. If you are offered a suitable position, you must accept it.

You must register for work with the Illinois Employment Service, either online or in person. You must keep a record of your job search efforts, including the dates and places you apply for work. When you apply for benefits, you will receive a form on which to record this information, which you may have to provide to the agency.

Eligibility & Next Steps

Within 7-10 days of filing your claim, you will receive a blank debit card and a UI Finding in the mail.

The UI Finding will tell you whether you are monetarily eligible for benefits, meaning you have earned sufficient wages in your base period. In general, you are monetarily eligible for benefits if you earned at least;$1,600;in covered employment in the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters, including;$440;outside the quarter in which wages were highest.

Image source: /content/dam/soi/en/web/ides/images/UI-finding-example.png

Within 7-10 days of filing your claim, you will receive a blank debit card and a UI Finding in the mail.

For example, if you earned $1,100 in January 2019 and $500 in July 2019, you earned sufficient wages in your base period to be monetarily eligible.

If you filed a claim for benefits and were determined monetarily eligible, read our “What Every Worker Should Know About Unemployment Insurance” brochure to find out what comes next.

Remember to certify;on your assigned day.

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Illinois To Offer Free Virtual Job Training To Unemployed Residents

On the same day Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Illinois has processed over one-million traditional unemployment claims, the governor launched a new online initiative aimed at getting residents back to work through virtual job training. At Thursdays coronavirus update press briefing, Pritzker announced the launch of a new online portal called Get Hired Illinois that he hopes will serve as…

Apply For Regular Ui:

If you’re out of work through no fault of your own, and you’ve worked for a covered employer in the last 18 months, you’ll need to apply for regular UI benefits before you can begin filing a weekly claim.

Please make sure you have these documents ready to go to make your application quick and easy:

You will receive a Claim Confirmation and Instructions form.
The Handbook for Claimants is online. You are responsible for knowing the information provided in this handbook.

If you qualify for unemployment benefits, we will send you a notice with the amount of benefits you can receive.
If you do not qualify for unemployment benefits, we will send you a notice that tells you why.
If you are required to perform a weekly work search orif you work less than full-time ;you mustregister for work with Wisconsin Job Service and complete a rÃ©sumÃ© within 14 days of the date you completed your application for unemployment benefits.

Hours of Operation: Online services are available at the following times to apply for Regular UI benefits:

Sunday

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Ides And The Emergency Rule

Question 1. Are employees who were temporarily laid off due to COVID-19 eligible for unemployment benefits?

Answer 1. Yes. Individuals temporarily laid off because their places of employment closed due to the COVID-19 crisis are eligible for unemployment benefits so long as they meet all the usual eligibility requirements. Those requirements include being separated from employment through no fault of their own, being able and available for work, and actively seeking work. Under IDESs emergency rule, individuals in this situation do not have to register with the employment service; they are considered to be actively seeking work as long as they are prepared to return to their jobs as soon as their employers reopen.

Q2. Is an employee who was diagnosed with COVID-19 and forced to stay home eligible for unemployment benefits?

A2. Yes. Employees who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or who must stay home to care for spouses, parents, or children diagnosed with COVID-19, are eligible for unemployment benefits as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements, including being able and available for work and actively seeking work from the confines of their homes.

Q3. An employee has quit due to COVID-19 concerns. Is this individual eligible for unemployment benefits?

Q4. For how long may an individual receive unemployment benefits?

Q5. Must an employer provide information on how to obtain unemployment benefits to an employee who is separated or laid off due to COVID-19?

Five Ways An Unemployment Lawyer Can Help You In Illinois

Gig Workers Now Eligible To Apply For Unemployment Benefits

If you have a straightforward unemployment claim, you will likely be able to file for unemployment benefits on your own, without any help from a lawyer. Your claim is relatively simple if you can easily meet the Illinois earnings requirements to qualify for benefits, and you and your employer agree that you lost your job through no fault of your own .

But if your case is more complicated, it might make sense to consult with or hire an unemployment lawyer to represent you. An unemployment lawyer can help you if you are facing any of the situations described below.

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What Benefits Are Expiring

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act also known as the CARES Act established a handful of new federal unemployment aid programs: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance , which provides benefits for those who are not typically eligible for unemployment aid, such as gig workers or the self-employed; Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation , which extends aid to people after they have exhausted benefits from the state; Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation , weekly cash boosts to help Americans recover lost wages; and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation , which provided an additional weekly $100 payment to eligible claimants who earned at least $5,000 in self-employment income in addition to wages earned with an employer.

How To Apply For Unemployment Benefits In Illinois

In order to apply for Illinois unemployment, residents must meet specific requirements. If you lose your job it is recommended that you apply for Illinoisunemployment benefits within a week in order to maximize what you can be paid. Benefits will not begin until your Illinois unemployment application is received and processed. The approval process can take at least one week.

To learn where you can apply for Illinois unemployment and what happens after you submit your application, read below.

Preparing the required documents.
How to apply for Illinois unemployment benefits online.
What to do after you filed your application.

There Are Some Resources Available For Those Who Need Assistance

Norington-Reaves says the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership is here to help. She touts the nearly 15,000 job openings her organization has received from employers, as well as on-the-job training that provides stipends as people learn new skills. The Partnership is also partnering with the city, county and state to do targeted events, virtual job fairs and sector-driven hiring initiatives.

IDES encourages Illinois residents to seek help from the state through agencies like the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois Housing Development Authority, which administer programs like food assistance and rental assistance.

Making Weekly Unemployment Benefit Claims In Illinois

Approval of your initial claim for unemployment benefits is just the beginning of the unemployment compensation process for you. You need to file weekly claims with Illinois Department of Employment Security to keep receiving benefit payments. The Illinois Department of Employment Security describes the weekly claim-filing requirements in its;Unemployment Insurance Benefits Handbook. The;Illinois agency website;also has;instructions;on how to file for weekly benefits.

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Illinois Adopts Cares Act Provisions

Q15. What is the CARES Act?

A15. The CARES Act is a federal law that was recently enacted to address the economic situation resulting from the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The CARES Act provides a variety of economic stimulus items, which include federally funded expansions of states traditional unemployment benefits provisions. Illinois has signed on to participate in the CARES Act.

Q16. What unemployment benefits are now available for Illinois workers under the CARES Act?

A16. As noted in Q&A10, the CARES Act provides an additional $600 per week under the FPUC program, added on to an eligible individuals weekly unemployment benefit amount. This FPUC benefit applies to individuals who are eligible for benefits beginning March 29, 2020 and concluding the week ending July 25, 2020. ;Individuals who are eligible for even $1 of unemployment benefits in a given week are eligible for the $600 bonus.

The law also provides the $600 unemployment benefit to Illinois workers who would not traditionally be eligible for unemployment benefits, but who are now eligible under the CARES Acts Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program , and affected by COVID-19.

Additionally, the CARES Acts Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation entitles eligible Illinois workers to an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits .

Q17. When will Illinois pay the additional CARES Act FPUC benefits?

Illinois Unemployment Benefits And Eligibility

COVID-19 UPDATE:;Because the coronavirus pandemic has left so many Americans jobless, the federal government has given states more flexibility in granting unemployment benefits. If you have questions about whether youre eligible for unemployment benefits read our COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits and Insurance FAQ and check out;Illinois’s claimant handbook.

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Psrps Eligible For Summer Unemployment Compensation

By Christel Williams-Hayes, Recording Secretary and PSRP for Life | July 1, 2021 | News

Our PSRPs, from teacher assistants to school clerks, are the heartbeat of our schools yet for years, our PSRPs have been treated as an afterthought by CPS. Thats why Im proud to announce that last Friday, Governor Pritzker signed a bill into law that extends last summers emergency COVID state unemployment insurance statute through September 4, 2021 making most of our PSRPs eligible for unemployment benefits over this summer. Typically, PSRPs are NOT eligible for summer unemployment compensation, but this one-time pandemic relief measure has now been expanded to apply to this summer, too. See Section 15D on page 11 of the bill at this link.

We fought hard for this bill in Springfield, just as we fought hard and successfully for laws that restore our bargaining rights and at last give Chicagoans what the rest of the people of Illinois already have: an elected, representative school board.

Read on below for more information from the Illinois Federation of Teachers about this extended benefit, and please make sure you share with any PSRPs in your school communities. Our PSRPs are the anchors of our buildings, and were proud to continue to fight for them in Springfield as we seek to bring more humane policies to our school communities.

In solidarity,

Chicago Teachers Union