Chambana Sun

State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) sees a discrepancy in the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) now demanding repayment from recipients of unemployment assistance at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

“They were able to quickly process fraudulent claims worth of hundreds of millions, but couldn’t talk to those desperate for help,” Caulkins posted on Twitter. "How did it happen? Let the sun shine in.”

ABC7 reports some state residents are now being badgered with notices they owe as much as $20,000 in overpayments.

Even after lawmakers established that individuals who received unemployment overpayments could apply for a waiver, ABC7 investigators found that many residents insist their requests were either denied or that they never able to even get a clear response.

"It's incredibly frustrating; it's very stressful," said John Sweeney, who was laid off from an educational non-profit.

Sweeney is just one of a growing number of residents claiming that out of nowhere they received letters to pay back all of their state unemployment benefits without a clear explanation.

"A lot of representatives aren't able to assist me," he said. "I've been told a couple of times that a supervisor would give me a call back and that's just never happened. There was no information about how to appeal or if there was a waiver program.”

IDES officials counter the waiver program is still a work in progress, though they offer no clear-cut timetable for when it may be up and fully functioning.

Republican House Leader Jim Durkin (R-Chicago) has come to the recipients' defense.

"They're insulting Illinois residents by saying, 'pay us back money because of the error that we made,' I think it's just morally wrong," he said.

Durkin says his office is receiving calls from desperate residents receiving calls from that state that say, "you owe us money, we're going to garnish your wages, we're going to put a lien, we're going to put a claim on whatever type of job you have right now."

At the same time, Illinois Policy Institute reports state leaders missed a Sept. 6 deadline for paying back a $4.2 billion federal loan intended to fund the state unemployment insurance program.

One of just 22 states to apply for the federal funds, Illinois is now one of just 10 saddled with rising interest on that debt. Illinois Policy warned that interest price tag could go as high as $60 million annually.