By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – A top Illinois Republican is sick and tired of the complaints about the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
The governor’s office has been saying the computer system there is about ten years old and can handle a normal load of unemployment claims, but – in these coronavirus times – is overwhelmed. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) says – not good enough.
“We shut down private businesses in Illinois with an executive order a month and a half ago,” Durkin said in a news conference via Zoom. “It’s a very bold statement; I don’t oppose it. I supported it. I would say that shifting and repurposing state employees into IDES is a lot easier than shutting down private businesses, so this is on the administration to move other state employees into that position.”
Durkin, saying Pritzker has had a year and a half to get everything up to snuff, said he did not want to blame past administrations, thus precluding questions about possible underinvestment in infrastructure over the years.
Joining Durkin were two other Republicans. State Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) said his attempts to get the governor’s office’s attention on this were met by an employee there telling him to “get a life,” though he would not name the employee. “State government’s a customer service business, and, right now, we are failing at customer service,” said Wehrli.
State Rep. Mike Marron (R-Fithian) said not only is the governor’s office not communicating, he believes it’s “offensive” that Gov. JB Pritzker is spending so much time in Chicago. Since the governor began daily briefings during the coronavirus crisis, one has been in Springfield, and one has been in Murphysboro. The rest have been in the state’s largest city.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
