(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is reacting to an auditor general report that shows the state was scammed out of some $5 billion in wrongful unemployment payments during the pandemic.
A two-year investigation concluded the improperly paid benefits went to recipients that included nearly 500 dead people and 3,500 inmates.
Pritzker told reporters the majority of money was lost through a federal system that was set up very quickly during the pandemic. He said every state was hit with fraud through that program.
He conceded the Illinois Department of Employment Security also made some improper payments. Pritzker blames his predecessor for neglecting IDES.
“If you had to draw a lesson from it, you draw this: Do not ignore even these seemingly smaller agencies of state government, like IDES, like the Department of Public Health,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker said his administration learned those lessons and have been updating the systems.
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