COVID-19 update: 74 more dead; Pritzker touts unemployment processing changes
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the state has called back several recently retired Illinois Department of Employment Security employees to help process the more than half a million initial unemployment claims the state has received in the past five weeks.
The governor acknowledged claim processing has been an issue for many of Illinois' laid-off workers during the coronavirus outbreak, but he said the state is making headway to fix that problem.
IDES workers have spent 6,500 hours processing claims beyond their normal work hours and processed more than 270,000 first-time claims, totaling more than $200 million in benefits.
But the state has received roughly 513,000 initial unemployment claims during the past five weeks, well beyond what the system was built to handle, he said.
"This virus has claimed the lives of hundreds of Illinoisans. It has stolen the good health of tens of thousands more. And it has disrupted the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands," Pritzker said at the start of his daily briefing Monday. "The challenges workers and families are facing today is something my whole administration thinks about each day as we're simultaneously trying to fend off health consequences of coronavirus."
The state recorded 74 additional deaths from the coronavirus Monday, along with another 1,173 new infections
That brings the total number killed by the virus in Illinois to 794, while the total number infected now stands at 22,025.
Among those who died were 58 Cook County residents, five DuPage County residents, four people from Will County, three from Lake County, and one each from Kane and McHenry counties.
The others who died were from downstate Fayette and Jasper counties.
Infections have been reported in 87 counties.
The state has tested more than 105,000 people, less than 1% of the state's population. Of those tests, 20% have come back positive for an infection.
Many of those newly infected are health care workers and first responders, who until recently were not allowed to claim coronavirus illness as a workers' compensation issue. The governor recently approved changes that allow many of the state's "essential workers" to claim workers' compensation if they become infected.
"It's comforting to know that through this change in the law, the state of Illinois will be there for us," said Chuck Sullivan, president of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.
However, not all essential workers are covered, including journalists. Pritzker said the workers' compensation rules could be amended further in the future, but he wanted to start with the people who were on the "front lines."
Some have questioned the legality of Pritzker's move, mainly a group of employer organizations. They claim the rule change may have violated the state's Open Meetings Act and complained that cash-strapped employers would be further financially burdened by the change.
"At a time when the state is discussing how to provide relief for employers trying to maintain jobs, this move runs contrary in every way," a spokesperson for the business groups stated in a news release.