State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, released the following statement regarding the Illinois Auditor General’s report that the Illinois Department of Unemployment Security (IDES) paid out $5.24 billion in overpayments, including fraudulent unemployment claims, from 2020 to 2022:
“The Auditor General’s report is an outrage to every taxpayer and every family in Illinois who suffered loss of employment as a result of the pandemic; to have over $5 billion in resources lost to fraud and mismanagement on the part of the Pritzker administration. Democrats and Republicans should come together to demand that the Illinois Department of Employment Security take immediate action to reform their agency’s process to protect taxpayer dollars and prevent such a catastrophic waste from ever being allowed to happen again. The Governor should also come out today and take full responsibility for the findings in this report and offer a thorough explanation to the public.”
Representative Sosnowski serves the 69th District which includes portions of Winnebago, Boone, and McHenry Counties.