Chambana Sun

House Rep. Mike Marron (R-Fithian) joined several House Republicans during a press conference to discuss a massive data breach that occurred last month involving the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).

Marron said that IDES has been failing to catch up on the backlog of employees and business owners seeking relief from the Gov. J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 shutdown.

"The General Assembly needs answers to why this is not getting fixed," Marron said. "They can’t understand why the administration is not getting this fixed. Many business owners were successful because they had a 'get it done' attitude. Now that the need relief, they are extremely frustrated that the governor hasn’t used this same approach."

Marron said leaders have a responsibility to see that the system works and people get their benefits.

"Resources and manpower exist to fix the problem," Marron said. "This is unacceptable. We want to be part of the solution. Before we can provide solutions, we need to know why the system is failing."

Marron said the governor has repeatedly refused to have an honest discussion as to why the IDES system is failing.

"The governor doesn’t even acknowledge there is a problem," Marron said. "If he won’t take responsibility to fix this mess, we will."

Marron said Pritzker should admit the department has failed and commit the resources to get the problem fixed.

"If he will not act we will do the job for him," Marron said. "We are asking for an extensive audit of the system now."

Marron, along with other House Republicans, filed House Resolution 860 on May 29, calling for a full audit of IDES and its unemployment benefits application system. The resolution directs the auditor general to conduct the audit. 

House Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) filed the resolution with the clerk.