Claims for unemployment insurance can be filed online at www.ides.state.il.

us or at any
of the local IDES offices located throughout the state. Once you file your claim, you can
State of Illinois
obtain information on the status of your claim by calling Tele-Serve at 1-888-337-7234
or TDD/TTY 1-800-662-3943.
Department of Employment Security

WHAT EVERY WORKER

At IDES local offices you can also get help with your job search. Our online job matching
service, www.IllinoisSkillsMatch.com, can match you to employers’ job openings
Last revised: 11/08

instantly. To find the IDES office nearest you, call 1-888-367-4382.

SHOULD KNOW
IDES LOCATIONS
Alton Elgin Mt. Vernon

about
Arlington Heights Evanston Murphysboro
Belleville Freeport North Aurora

Unemployment Insurance
Bloomington Galesburg Olney
Bolingbrook Glen Carbon Ottawa
Burbank Grayslake Pekin
Carlinville Harrisburg Peoria

Notice to Employers
Centralia Harvey Pontiac
Champaign Jacksonville Quincy
Chicago Heights Joliet Rockford
Cicero Kankakee Springfield
When workers are laid off for a period of seven days
Danville Litchfield Sterling
or more or are separated from the payroll for any
Decatur Lombard Waukegan reason, employers are required to provide them with
DeKalb Marion Woodstock a copy of this publication. If it is not practical to pro-
East St. Louis Mattoon vide copies at the work site, the publication should
Effingham Moline be mailed to employees' last known address within
five calendar days of separation. Enter the firm's
In Chicago: name and address in the space below:
1657 S. Blue Island Ave. 10 S. Kedzie Ave.
Daley College- 8750 S. Stony Island Ave.
7500 S. Pulaski, Bldg. 100 715 E. 47th Street
4931 W. Diversey Ave. 1515 E. 71st St.
837 W. 119th Street 3500 W. Grand Ave.
2444 W. Lawrence Ave.

Note: The information contained in this brochure is subject to change at

any time. For the latest information, visit the IDES Web site at
www.ides.state.il.us.

Printed by Authority of the

State of Illinois
Illinois Department of Employment Security
IOCI 0356-09 07-08 9.4M
www.ides.state.il.us
The Illinois Department of Employment Security administers the unemployment 6. You must be actively seeking work and willing to accept any suitable job offered.
insurance program for the state of Illinois. You are entitled to unemployment insurance You must keep a log of your job search activities in every week for which you
benefits while you are unemployed if you meet the legal requirements. Benefits are claim benefits. If your eligibility is challenged, you may be required to produce
financed solely by employers' payroll taxes – not by any deductions from your wages. that document.

Who Qualifies for Unemployment Insurance? When and Where to File:

1. To qualify, you must have earned at least $1,600 during a recent 12-month period
known as the base period (see chart below). You must have earned at least $440
outside of the base period quarter in which your earnings were the highest. The
staff of your local IDES office can explain the rules in more detail.
If Your Benefit Year Begins: Your Base Period Will Be:
File your claim for unemployment insurance benefits during the first week after you
have become unemployed. You can file for benefits online at www.ides.state.il.us or
at a local IDES office or Illinois workNet Center. If you are uncertain about your eli-
gibility for benefits, ask your local IDES office for further information. Receipt of this
pamphlet does not necessarily mean you are eligible. You must also register for job
placement service at an IDES office or online at www.IllinoisSkillsMatch.com.

Information Needed to File for Benefits:

Last Year Between:
This Year Between:
Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, and the year before between
Jan. 1 and March 31
Oct. 1 and Dec. 31
This Year Between: Last Year Between: This pamphlet
April 1 and June 30 Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 Verification of your Social Security number
●

Last Year Between: Names and addresses of past employers and the number of days worked
This Year Between:
●

April 1 and Dec. 31, and this year between

July 1 and Sept. 30 for each
Jan. 1 and March 31
●

Last Year Between: Records showing wages earned, including dismissal wages and vacation pay
This Year Between:
July 1 and Dec. 31, and this year between Records of any pension payments you are receiving, including Social Security
Oct. 1 and Dec. 31
●

Jan. 1 and June 30

Any odd-job or part-time earnings while you are unemployed
●

If you have been awarded temporary total disability benefits under a workers’ compensation act or other similar
acts, or if you only have worked within the last few months, your base period may be determined differently. Contact
Your spouse's employment status and Social Security number
●

your local IDES office for more information.

Names, social security numbers and birth dates of your children, including
●

2. Your employer must be subject to the state's unemployment insurance law.

stepchildren, adopted children under 18, disabled children regardless of age, and
Among the types of work not covered are certain agricultural, domestic, railroad
●

any child of whom you have court-ordered custody.

and government work, and certain work done for one's family and on commission.

3. You must either be entirely out of work or be working less than full time because
no more work is available. Your earnings must fall below a certain threshold
determined at the time you file your claim.
4. Your unemployment must be involuntary. You may be disqualified if you: quit
your job voluntarily without good cause attributable to your employer; were dis-
charged for misconduct in connection with your work; were discharged for a
felony or theft in connection with your work; or are out of work because of a
labor dispute.
If, within the past two years, you have worked (1) in a state other than Illinois, (2) for
a railroad, (3) for the federal government, or (4) if you have served in the armed
forces, tell the claimstaker.
Note:
The law provides jail sentences and fines if you attempt to obtain benefits
fraudulently by withholding pertinent information or by making false state-
ments with your claim.

5. You must be able and available to work. Benefits are not paid for any period in
which you are on vacation, when your principle occupation is that of a student
(you may be eligible if you are attending a training course approved by the IDES
director) or while you engage in any other activity that makes you unavailable
for work. Benefits are not paid for any day or days on which you are unable to
work because of illness, disability, family responsibilities, lack of transportation,
etc.
IDES is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all state and federal
nondiscrimination laws in the administration of its programs. Auxiliary aids and
services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Contact the
manager of the IDES office nearest you or the IDES Equal Opportunity Officer at
(312) 793-9290 or TTY (888) 340-1007.
Information on Emergency
Unemployment
Compensation (EUC 08)
How do I know if I am eligible for the
extension?
Up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment
insurance benefits are payable for weeks starting
July 6, 2008, and up to 7 more weeks are payable
starting November 23, 2008, for the duration of the
program, if you meet the following criteria:
• You are currently unemployed and have exhausted all regular
unemployment insurance benefits.
• You are not eligible for any other state, Federal or Canadian UI
benefits.
• The “benefit year ending date” on your most recent qualifying
unemployment insurance claim is on or after May 1, 2007.
• Your total “base period” earnings on the qualifying claim are at
least one and a half times the amount of wages you earned in the
base period quarter in which your earnings were the highest.
• You continue to be out of work though no fault of your own and are
able and available and actively seeking work.
What do I need to do to file for the extension?
• Upon exhaustion of your regular benefits, an extended benefits
claim will automatically be established for you if your benefit year
has not ended. Once this claim is established, you will receive a
“findings” letter in the mail informing you of whether or not you are
eligible for the extension based on the above eligibility
requirements.
• If your benefit year ends while you are filing for benefits, and if you
are ineligible for regular benefits on your subsequent benefit year,
you will receive a notice to report to your local office to determine
your entitlement to extended benefits.
If you previously exhausted your rights to extended benefits,
eligible individuals will be notified of their eligibility to receive
up to seven additional weeks of benefits for weeks beginning
on or after November 23, 2008. If you have not received this
notification by December 10, 2008 and feel you might be
eligible, please contact your local office.
How do I get my extended benefit payment?
You must certify for extended benefit payments, just as you did for
regular unemployment benefits. You will certify bi-weekly via Tele-
Serve unless you have been otherwise instructed. Once your
extended benefit claim has been established you will be notified of
the date you should call Tele-Serve.
What will be the amount of benefits I receive on the extension?
• The weekly dollar amount of extended benefits will be the same
amount you received while collecting regular unemployment
insurance benefits. This includes any dependency allowance
received, if you remain eligible for this allowance.
• The total dollar amount of extended benefits you may collect is
equal to the lesser of one-half the total amount of benefits payable
on the regular unemployment claim (including dependency
allowance), or twenty times the average weekly benefit amount
(including dependency allowance) for the regular claim.
Funding for extended benefits
While regular state UI benefits are funded by employer
contributions, these extended benefits are 100 percent Federally
funded, Illinois employers, including reimbursable employers, will
not be charged for the cost of extended benefits.
End dates of extended benefits
• At this time, no new extended benefit claims may be made for
weeks beginning after March 31, 2009
• At this time, no extended benefits will be payable after the week
ending August 28, 2009. Please continue to check the IDES
website for future updates.

SAVE TIME – FILE ONLINE!
Questions and Answers about
Filing Your Unemployment
Insurance Claim
on the Internet
Why apply for unemployment insurance (UI)
online?
Using the Internet can let you file your claim at the time
and place most convenient for you, without having to wait
in line. To file, just go to www.ides.state.il.us and click
on the link “Apply for Unemployment Insurance Online”.
Should everyone who has a UI claim file on the
Internet?
Most everyone can file online, however if you worked for
the US Military, the Federal Government, or outside of
Illinois at some point during the past 18 months, you
should contact your local IDES office before filing online.
When should I file my claim?
You should file your claim on the first working day after
you become unemployed.
What information do I need if I file my claim via the
Internet?
• Social Security Number and name as it appears on
your Social Security card
• If claiming your spouse or child as a dependent,
the Social Security Number, date of birth and name
of dependent(s)
• Employer's name, mailing address, employment
dates, and separation reason for all employers
worked for since 07/01/2007 to 11/24/2008
• If you are not a United States citizen, your Alien
Registration Information.
• If you worked since Sunday of this week, the
amount of gross wages earned this week. (You
must report all gross wages for any work
performed, full or part time. Your gross wages are
the amount you earned before any deductions, not
your take home pay. Wages in the form of lodging,
meals, merchandise or any other form should be
included. Gross wages must be reported the week
in which they are earned, not the week in which
you receive the wages. If your gross wages earned
in any week are less than your weekly benefit
amount, you still may be eligible to receive a full or
partial benefit payment.)
When does my claim begin?
Your Internet claim will be effective the calendar week in
which it is received by the IDES. For example, if you
complete your Internet application today, in most cases,
the claim will be effective this past Sunday. If you want to
request your claim to be dated prior to this date, you
must exit this system now and contact your local office.
How long should the claim take me to complete?
About 30 minutes.
How do I navigate through the system? How are payments made?
While working your way through the Internet UI Claims
process is quite straightforward, here are a few tips to All Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits are now paid
keep in mind: through a debit card, unless you elect to receive payment
by direct deposit to a checking or savings account.
• To access the online application, you’ll need to use
a Windows PC, the Internet Explorer browser, and More information about debit cards and signing up for
Adobe Reader. direct deposit can also be found on the IDES website,
www.ides.state.il.us.
• DO NOT use the Back button on your browser to
return to a previous screen or your information will
be lost. Instead, use the navigation bar found on
the left of the screen.
• DO complete the application if at all possible. If
you exit before submitting the application,
you will lose any information that you have
entered. When done, be sure to click the FILE MY
CLAIM button to transmit the application to IDES
for further processing.

How do I get paid once my Internet claim is filed?

Approximately two weeks after you have filed your claim

you must certify for benefits on the claim by calling Tele-
Serve at 1-888-337-7234. Tele-Serve is an automated
system that enables you to claim weeks of unemployment
insurance benefits over the telephone.

You will receive a finding in the mail that will inform you
of the date you should first call Tele-Serve to certify. If
you do not receive this information sheet within two
weeks from the date you filed your claim, contact your
local office. After your first certification, you will continue
to call Tele-Serve on a biweekly basis on your call day.
Your specific date to call Tele-Serve will be printed on
your Statement of Certification which will be mailed to
you after each time you certify.