(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Illinois Department of Employment Security has caught a lot of flak for a sometimes slow response to the unemployed during the pandemic, but agency staffers have also faced serious threats.
One IDES office received a bomb threat, an agency spokesperson says.
And there has been vandalism, broken windows and graffiti.
Related
“We know that claimants are frustrated and we are working as expeditiously as possible to process claims and get money in the hands of those who need it,” the spokesperson said.
IDES has had to call in state police and local law enforcement.
For the time being, Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday, IDES offices are closed to the public.
“It makes it much more difficult to maintain their security if we open those offices physically,” he said, referring to state employees.
IDES was swamped with an unprecedented number of jobless claimants because of the pandemic. Pritzker has said the agency had been underfunded for years, and its online platform was antiquated. But several fixes have not seemed to quell all complaints from people trying to claim benefits.