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Oh, for crying out loud, IDES

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Illinois

[Tara Frost] works for the state at Northern Illinois University. She says in May she got a notice from NIU telling her an IDES employee had called to check on her unemployment claim, but Frost never stopped working. […]

“My payroll department assured me that they let them know and that would be the end of it, but then two weeks later I got money deposited directly into my account from unemployment,” Frost said.

It was about $2,000. That is when she began calling IDES to report the fraud and to try to give the money back.

“Then she stated to me that, ‘Unemployment is a mess right now. We really don’t know what to do. Call back towards the end of the year, and pay it back then,’” Frost said.

Frost said she set aside the money in savings, but then there was another twist. Her pay stub showed the state was garnishing her wages for the money she owed and charging her a $100 administrative fee to boot.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 10:25 am

Comments

I have some friends getting notices in the mail saying they owe IDES thousands of dollars. They can’t reach anyone to resolve it or set an appeal.

I’ve been impressed by Pritzker throughout this crisis, but the IDES situation is unforgivable. Get in a room with the leadership and AFSCME and figure out a staffing plan to get through this crisis before the backlog of inquiries extends for years.

Comment by NIU Grad Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 10:34 am
This has been a disaster. And it will be reported to the IRS and mess up everyone’s tax returns and open them to an audit.

Comment by Smalls Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 10:36 am
=== “Then she stated to me that, ‘Unemployment is a mess right now. We really don’t know what to do. Call back towards the end of the year, and pay it back then,’” Frost said.

Frost said she set aside the money in savings, but then there was another twist. Her pay stub showed the state was garnishing her wages for the money she owed and charging her a $100 administrative fee to boot.===

Can’t blame all that on Deloitte.

At what point will the agency and the administration look at what is happening in real time and decide that easy (easier) fixes in the immediate will help with long term changes and real time necessities.

(Sigh)

Yes. Governors own. As I’ve always said to IDES during the pandemic.

Ok, they own. Now they can decide to something.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 10:40 am
If she ever needs unemployment there might be a fraud claim against her that would delay benefits, Hopefully that isn’t the case but IDES is a mess.

Comment by DTAG Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 10:41 am
I think former State Comptroller Dan Hynes needs to step into this mess and help solve it. He’s got the experience and the know-how to tackle this after multiple terms as the state’s chief fiscal officer.

Comment by west wing Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 10:52 am
Nuts.

Comment by JoanP Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 10:56 am
Ms. Frost received a Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment Decision. That is the title of the letter that informs a person that they have an overpayment. In it, there are very, very clear instructions (including a voucher with the payment amount) on how to mail in a payment through a check or provide a credit card number. You can also pay by phone using a credit or debit card through an automated system at 877-820-9155. This is all in the same letter. The garnishment process happens weeks after no one replies to the letter. There is no reason to call the hotline to try to pay IDES back, and there is no way an IDES employee would just say “I don’t know what you should do.” This is something that is a basic, well understood process.

But this website supports anyone who claims anything about IDES, and everyone believes they are wronged because the hotline is overwhelmed with callers.

Also, Dan Hynes is the one who is in constant contact with the Director and has been for months and months. He isn’t doing anything to straighten anything out. He asks for reports and that’s about it.

Comment by IDES employee Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:06 am
Umm, did IDES employee @ 11:06 just look up a personal record based on a news story and post information about it here?

And if not, have they seen any of the news about the trouble getting mail delivered in a timely manner?

And regardless, how is a person doing the wrong thing if they call an agency to report potential fraud?

Comment by Scorekeeper Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:11 am
So is this a vestige of Rauner’s DoIT?

Or is it something else?

Comment by Mr. K Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:11 am
== Ms. Frost received a Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment Decision.==

They may think one was sent, but how confident can you be that it was actually sent *and* received?

Comment by fs Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:16 am
Another Illinois governmental organization that when faced with a challenge meets it with incompetence. This is why living in the state is so frustrating. I wouldn’t mind high taxes if we didn’t have to deal with constant corruption and incompetence.

Comment by Chicagonk Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:22 am
==They may think one was sent, but how confident can you be that it was actually sent *and* received?==

From the article:

“With no warning,” she said. “I actually got a letter after from them.”

The letters are sent automatically when the overpayment is established in the system. No overpayment, no garnishment. She received one letter from us, which means the address is correct, so the letter which was sent informing her of the recoupment (required by law, and again, automated by the system) was sent to the correct address.

Also, this isn’t a fraud overpayment. Recoupment from State employees happens for non-fraud overpayment as well, and the burden to establish fraud is really, really high (intent must be established). So there is no record which will prevent her from filing UI if she needs to.

I get the frustration people have. We have hundreds of thousands of people trying to reach us, and not enough staff to handle it. But the people we do have work hard, and are not incompetent. While it is easy to believe that, don’t suspend your critical thinking skills just because of a sensationalist, non-investigative news story.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:30 am
@IDES employee -

Read the entire article. She mentions the letter she received from IDES - and how it came *AFTER* her wages started being garnished.

Your comment here is so unbecoming, I almost have no words. Do you always defensively discuss borderline confidential information in a public forum?

The IDES spokesperson had the chance to correct the record when CBS2 reached out for a comment, but they didn’t respond. If you want people to start respecting the Agency anytime soon, perhaps you should stay in your lane and leave public statements to the people hired to make them.

Comment by JMR Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:34 am
“Fair Tax” is the answer.
“Fair Tax” is the cure for every problem Team Pritzker can’t figure out or any new problems created by Team Pritzker.

Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:34 am
I would be incredibly mad if I were saddled with a problem I didn’t create by a state agency I never contacted. And I would absolutely not feel the need to spend days of my life trying to fix it myself.

The problems with IDES are well-known and well-documented. It is high time they be resolved.

Comment by Tim Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:40 am
@JMR

If she received the second letter, then the first one (which again, is sent automatically) went to the same address. I thought I made that clear.

I didn’t look up her case, all I did was read the same article you did and applied what every IDES employee knows about overpayments.

So spare me the sanctimony regarding “unbecoming” comments about “borderline confidential information” you drama poster.

I’m just trying to make people more informed so they think “maybe there is another side to this story, maybe I shouldn’t just uncritically accept everything I read.” But if you would rather I just stay in my lane so you can crow all day in ignorance, I’ll comply.

Comment by IDES employee Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:47 am
IDES employee if you read the article she already had the money deposited before she received any letter from IDES. That would be why she called. The “very, very clear instructions” do no good after the fact.

Comment by Bruce( no not him) Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:53 am
Was the first letter sent certified mail? You’d think the state would do that before garnishment began.

Comment by Annoyed Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:58 am
== “maybe there is another side to this story, maybe I shouldn’t just uncritically accept everything I read.”==

That’s asking a little too much of Facebook users, don’t you think?

Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 11:58 am
Meanwhile J.B. wants landlords to keep giving away free housing because people can’t pay their rent….because they can’t get their unemployment benefits.

Comment by Just Me 2 Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:03 pm
=Ms. Frost received a Notice of Overpayment and Recoupment Decision.=

@IDES employee, maybe the part you are missing is the fact that she shouldn’t have had to do anything to begin with. She never made a claim. She shouldn’t have to go through all of this or pay anything. IDES screwed up. Own it and fix it.

Comment by JS Mill Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:13 pm
- So spare me the sanctimony -

How about spare us the sanctimony since your agency sent this lady money when she didn’t even file a claim. No one expects perfection, but I hardly think anyone at IDES is in a position to talk down to people right now.

Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:22 pm
IDES was swamped but they should never be penalizing people for the agency’s mistake.

Comment by theCardinal Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:23 pm
@IDES Employee -

Your agency messed up. Thousands of times. Maybe tens of thousands of fraudulent disbursements.

Instead of blaming frustrated citizens, look in the mirror at your own agency. Ask yourself whether garnishing the wages of state employees to recover funds they never asked to receive in the first place was a really smart, customer-centered approach? Or was it likely to compound the frustration and anger they were experiencing, making resolution more difficult?

If your fellow state employees can’t even understand the process you claim is laid out for them and follow it, how do you think Joe Public is gonna fair?

Comment by Thomas Paine Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:37 pm
“maybe I shouldn’t just uncritically accept everything I read.”

You have saved us all from our gullible selves…my eyes are freshly open due to your Sage like advice.

Comment by Dotnonymous Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:41 pm
Thanks for another reminder that I STILL haven’t gotten my callback about my fraudulent UI claim. Coming up on 4 weeks now.

Comment by KSDinCU Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:46 pm
@KSDinCU - At least IDES employees have time to post on Capitol Fax

Comment by Chicagonk Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 12:58 pm
I wonder if the IDES employee or Dan Hynes will finally release stats on call volume, issues lodged, issues solved, etc. that they’ve been hiding from the press and legislators since April.

Comment by Hole in One Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 1:11 pm
She got money mistakenly, tried to return it and was essentially turned away (she was asked to return the money at the end of the year), and then she gets her wages garnished? I mean that’s a huge mess!

Comment by Levois J Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 1:12 pm
@Chicagonk, I don’t know enough about who is responsible, but I’m generally not inclined to blame individual overworked employees for what seems to be a larger problem. Maybe IDES employee can tell me whether I should go ahead and submit the online report as well, even though the phone message says that double reporting might cause delays.

Comment by KSDinCU Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 1:19 pm
== Meanwhile J.B. wants landlords to keep giving away free housing because people can’t pay their rent….because they can’t get their unemployment benefits. ==
From the Chicago Tribune: “ Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday to extend the state’s eviction moratorium that’s been in place during the coronavirus pandemic, citing concerns that households need more time to catch up with rent while assistance fund applications are pending.”
So the money from the rental assistance would go to the landlords. They would get paid. The housing isn’t “free” the payments are delayed.

Comment by Fly like an eagle Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 2:17 pm
This is ridiculous. I’m getting upset just reading it. Garnish wages and administrative fees after she called and tried to return it. Who’s in charge of this fiasco?

Comment by pool boy Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 2:18 pm
The overworked state worker IDES is not the problem. Here is the problem: “Also, Dan Hynes is the one who is in constant contact with the Director and has been for months and months. He isn’t doing anything to straighten anything out. He asks for reports and that’s about it.” Fix it by firing Hynes and install someone who can figure out the problem and know how to fix it. I will give you a big hint: There is not enough workers to handle the volume people contacting them.

Comment by M Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 2:25 pm
Hello @IDES employee

For what it is worth, I happen to know both Ms. Frost and her husband, I worked with them both in IT for years between the two of them and I would very surprised if they ignored a letter about this or were unable to navigate the automated voice system.

I get it, IDES is getting hammered and can’t catch a break. Also, everyone assumes it is your fault, that has to stink.

That being all said, based off my experience with the two of them both as people and technical professionals I am comfortable saying they are not the ones who screwed up here.

Comment by OneMan Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 2:29 pm
It sounds like management does not know how to fix the problem because there is not enough money to hire more workers. IDES needs to find and hire the best IT company to fix their online issues to help people solve their issues and get rid of a lot of the phone calls.

Comment by Mama Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 2:31 pm
IDES’s computer system is clearly not working to assist people online in finding a solution to their problem.

Comment by Mama Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 2:34 pm
==“IDES’s computer system is clearly not working to assist people online in finding a solution to their problem.”==

That’s not just IDES, that’s the entire state government as a whole. This pandemic really just shed more light on how woefully inadequate the state’s computer/data systems are.

They need an overhaul. And DoIT can’t seem to “do it” fast enough. There is a LOT of red tape.

Comment by Springfield Westsider Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 2:59 pm
Back during the 2008-2010 timeframe, many many press conferences occurred with both Mayor Daley and Senator Durbin. No press conferences with Governor Quinn. It was as though there wasn’t a problem with unemployment as long as he didn’t acknowledge it.

Although I didn’t see all of Governor Pritzker’s Covid briefings, I saw my fair share and heard many many questions regarding unemployment. Despite many guests at those briefings, I don’t recall seeing DG Hynes or the acting director of IDES. Kind of reminds me of Gov. Quinn….. just address it, own it and fix it.

Comment by Iris Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 3:46 pm
Will Illinois be applying for the Lost Wage Assistance like 30 other states already have ?

Comment by Spicoli,J Friday, Aug 21, 20 @ 4:03 pm

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