CHICAGO - April 16, 2009. Governor Pat Quinn today announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will fund an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance for Illinois unemployed workers who otherwise would have exhausted their benefits. The news comes after the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced that the Illinois unemployment rate was 9.1 percent last month.

 

“The proud workers of Illinois deserve this additional help to weather the storm of this deep national recession,” said Governor Quinn. “We need to do more than just extend unemployment benefits – we need to pass legislation to put the people of Illinois back to work. Two weeks ago I signed the Jump Start Capital Plan to start projects that put people to work; now I am working with the General Assembly to pass the rest of the Illinois Jobs Now! plan which will support 340,000 jobs.”

 

The Extended Benefits Program provides up to 13 additional weeks of unemployment insurance to workers who have exhausted their 26 weeks of benefits through the state and the additional 33 weeks provided through federal emergency extensions approved by Congress. Without the Extended Benefits Program, Illinois workers who exhausted their regular and emergency benefits would no longer receive unemployment benefits through IDES.

 

The Extended Benefits Program was activated April 5. The extended benefits automatically will become payable for weeks beginning on or after April 12.

 

With extended benefits come additional federal requirements. In order to qualify for extended benefits, claimants must document their job search, which must generally include at least five personal contacts with prospective employers each week and three work applications each week. Those eligible for extended benefits will receive more detail in the mail and do not need to contact the department. Details are also available at www.Ides.State.il.us.

 

“To assist working families with the more stringent documentation rules, the Department has set up a centralized customer service center and will provide individual notices to claimants along with required forms necessary to receive the benefit payment,” IDES Director Maureen O’Donnell said.