Illinois Unemployment Assistance

Eligibility

You must be a United States citizen or registered alien authorized to work in the U.S. to apply for unemployment benefits. When applying, you must provide your Social Security number. Non-U.S. citizens have to submit their alien registration details. To claim dependents, such as children or spouses, you must also provide their names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, as well.

Illinois encourages residents to apply for benefits online. The online system is available 24 hours a day except for maintenance periods on Mondays between 2 to 4 a.m., central time and Thursdays 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. central time. If you are out-of-state you may file via telephone. The number is only available to claimants who are not in the state. When you file, for unemployment you must provide detailed information on your most recent jobs including employment dates, employer contact details, gross wages and the reason why you are no longer employed. As of 2011, claimants are required to provide employment details starting from April 1, 2009.

Once you begin receiving your unemployment check, you will receive a claimant wage information sheet. It will include a day that you must re-certify your benefits every other week. Certification can be completed online or by phone. Your benefits will be paid via direct deposit or debit card every other week. Your first disbursement will occur approximately three weeks after your first certification. The standard time to receive benefits is 26 weeks. However, in December 2010, the federal government extended the number of weeks an individual could receive benefits for a maximum of 99 weeks. How long a person receives benefits beyond the standard period is determined by whether or not they meet federal extended unemployment compensation criteria.

You must actively pursue work for each week that you receive benefits. The state requires that you keep a weekly record of all work search information. You may be required to present that information to the state. If you fail to keep a record of your job search, the state may deny unemployment assistance. A work search form for keeping tabs on job hunting is available online. The IDES website has a guide to online job search tools and employment services to help jump start your employment search.